Forever
by Sa'ash
Summary: As lion is lost in depression, a Tiger falls victim to desperation. The two collide with effervescent hearts, the past shadows burned away, leaving only the sun of the future, to shine down.
1. Depression

Ch.1 of forever.

The beginning starts an hour after Liono Saw Cheetara Kiss Tygra and, in his jealousy, ran away to escape his collapsing world. But why is it collapsing? What secret is he hiding? Read and find out.

Review when you're finished please :3

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><p>He had run for so long, until his legs ached, until he was too tired to think straight. What he saw, it was a betrayal, not only of his love, but his loyalty. Liono might have never expressed his feelings for his brother, but he still held him close to his heart, despite how he acted. To see his brother, the one he loved, kissing someone other than himself, it hurt so much, he had to get away.<p>

He did not doubt that they would go looking for him, but he was sure they wouldn't even notice for a while longer. He had heard what she said to him, she loved him, ever since the day he left her a single flower while she waited outside the clerisy. He felt broken, like he would never be able to feel again. He started to go numb from the pain his heart felt, and the rain that started dropping in a slow drizzle did nothing to calm his menagerie of emotions.

Taking a seat at the base of a tree on a cliff overlooking the Elephant's village some distance away, he looked down and saw little lights slowly moving across the gardens and walkways of the large city. He wondered how long it would be now; shifting his gaze to the waterfall on his right, he thought for a moment if it would hurt to die. He could do it, jump. But would he… would he try to reveal his feelings for Tygra, should he even bother? Liono never felt like his brother was the type to fall for cats like him, for other males in general.

"No, of course he wouldn't, he'd think it would make him weak." Liono said to himself, catching rapid flickering out of the corner of his eye. Looking back at the village he saw a light dashing about, the tell-tale glow that proceeded them evidence enough of just who it was running about. He sighed as he shuffled himself around to the other side of the tree, so he couldn't see anything that would make the pain burn worse.

-Down in the village- [Cheetara]

Cheetara ran around frantically, searching for the lord of the Thundercats, her speed allowing her to cover more distance in less time. She searched behind rocks, up in trees, in and around houses, and through all of the uninhabited ruins around the village, and still she found no trace of him.

"It's like he just vanished," she said before turning around to see if Tygra found anything.

-"- [Tygra]

"Dammit where did that idiot run off to?" Tygra yelled, a question posed more to himself than the people staring at this overly loud Tiger. Like Cheetara, he was searching frantically for his brother. He had known Liono to up and go off on his own, but he would usually tell someone where he was going first. He didn't think the Elephants were so forgetful that they wouldn't remember seeing a cat running off. He hoped that nothing bad had happened to his brother, but again this was his brother, and trouble seemed to find him one way or another. The thought of this made him increase his pace, but after a little while longer he realized the boy wasn't in the village anymore, and ran back to start a new search.

-"- [ Panthro, Wilykit/kat]

"Gah I wonder what's taking them both so long, I mean really how hard is it to find one person, it's not like Liono disappeared from the village, he just has to be around here somewhere, I wish they'd hurry up," Wilykat whined, crashing down across the seat of the Thundertank with a -pomf-

"Calm yourself, I'm sure they'll be back in a minute," Panthro said, agitated by the young one's constant whining.

"Or maybe they are back now" Wilykit exclaimed as she raised her head from laying down on the top of the tank to see Cheetara sprinting toward them with Tygra coming up behind her.

"Where's Liono?"Panthro asked, not seeing the young Lion with them.

"He's not in the village anymore, his scent is just, gone," Tygra breathed as he panted, worn out from his tireless searching.

Cheetara was about to agree but the elder of the Elephants came up behind them and looked around, looking surprised.

"So he really did leave then, which means…" The elder looked down at the Cheetah and Tiger in front of him.

"Did you two really kiss then?" he asked them, his eyebrow raised inquisitively.

Tygra looked to Cheetara, with their mouths opened in awe while the three behind them had their mouths open in gasps, shocked by the question in their own way.

"That's not any of your business, why would it matter if we did or not?" Tygra asked, annoyed at such an invasion of their privacy.

"Because that is why Liono left…" he revealed, the shocked looks on their face betraying their confusion.

"He couldn't bear the sight of Cheetara kissing someone who wasn't him, huh. Still, that's no reason to abandon your team." Tygra seethed, about to continue, but was stopped as the Elder one held up his hand and spoke.

"He did not abandon you, in fact he was looking this way not moments ago, can't you feel him?" he asked, causing the others to look around, finding nothing.

"you will not find him here, rather, you will find him up there," He finished, pointing to a cliff in the distance, where everyone could see a slight glimmer…

"His gauntlet," Tygra sighed. "He never was any good at stealth."

"Perhaps he did it so that you could find him, he did ask though, that if I told anyone he left, to make sure it was only you who went to him Tygra."

"And why would he want that?" the Tiger asked.

"If you cannot feel it, even after all this time, then maybe it should only be you who goes to him." The Elephant finished, nodding to the rest and walking off, ignoring Tygra as he tried to stop the hulking figure.

"What will you do Tygra?" Cheetara asked him after he finally calmed enough to talk.

"I guess I'm going to find out what his problem is," he responded, but before leaving he added:

"If I'm not back by sunrise, come looking for me," and walked out of the village, towards the cliff where Liono waited.


	2. Someone lost

-The Cliff- [Liono]

"Sigh, maybe I should just do it and get it over with, no one's coming." He thought, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. He couldn't believe it was going to end like this, alone. It was hard enough he had to deal with the loss of his father and his home; adding the weight of losing the love of his life broke the final chain tethering him here.

Liono stood and removed the armor from his chest, letting it fall with a clang to the soft grass as he moved closer to the waterfall. He cursed himself for letting all of this happen, for being a coward to his own emotions.

"What good is a king if he's a coward?" He asked to no one in particular, nearing the edge, and his release form the pain.

A rustling from behind him was the only thing that made him stop, the smells on the wind told him exactly who was behind him, and confirmed it was only him.

"It doesn't matter if the King's a coward, as long as he leads his people in the right direction." Said a voice form overhead, accompanied by a figure dropping from the trees to land a few feet behind the Lion.

Ignoring the comment, Liono resumed walking toward the edge, determined to end this before he got caught up in his emotions again.

"What do you think you are doing?" Tygra asked, fearing that he knew what his brother had planned.

"What does it matter to you, you'll have the girl and the crown all to yourself in just a few moments." He replied, not losing his pace.

He knew it, Tygra knew what he was going to do, and rushed to catch his arm and keep him from going and further, but the lion turned and sent a kick to his chest, dropping the Tiger to his knees, stunned.

"Why are you doing this, it was one kiss?"

Stopping once again, only inches from his "Destiny" Liono turned his head slightly to respond.

"So he told you then, that I saw you two?"

"Yes, and he also told us that's why you left, are you really going to kill yourself because you think Cheetara chose me?" Tygra yelled, anger in his voice.

"It doesn't matter if she chooses you; what matters is that you chose her… over me," Crossing the last few inches, Liono threw himself from the cliff, and into the moonlit waters below.

"LIONO! NO!" Tygra yelled at the top of his voice, leaping to the edge and casting his whip, trying to catch the boy's foot. For a moment it looked like it might actually grab hold of him, but it came up short, Tygra yelled once more before he saw his brother break the water's surface and kept watching as the splash settled.

-The Village- [Cheetara, Wilykit/kat, Panthro]

They heard a shout in the direction they were watching, and turned to it just in time to see Liono throw himself of the cliff,

"No!" Cheetara yelled, while the other three gasped, clearly too distressed by the sight to say anything. After what had happened finally set in, Wilykit started to tear up, and eventually broke out into loud fits of crying in between staggered gasps and sniffles. The few Elephants who were watching could not believe what they saw, and could only imagine the loss their visitors were feeling.

-Cliff- [Tygra]

Tygra couldn't stop the tears that came, he couldn't stop thinking about what just happened, and how he had let it happen. He couldn't stop repeating the words Liono had said before he jumped.

"Did he… love me?" He asked himself, still staring after his brother for a few seconds before pulling himself back up and crouching under a tree nearby. With his head in his hands he wept loudly, unbelieving that this was really happening, and trying to convince himself it wasn't a dream. The sound of an engine roaring brought him back to the reality he so desperately wanted to escape, he even considered jumping himself, but he was too much a coward to actually do it.

"Who's really the coward?" Tygra whispered under his breath. His brother pervaded his thoughts, even when Cheetara and the kits came into view he still kept his focus on the lion. Cheetara sat down next to him and put her arm on his shoulder, he looked over to her and through his sobs he told her what happened. He even told her his final words, and hearing them caused the group to gasp, even Panthro who just reached them after securing the Thundertank.

"I wasn't fast enough, I couldn't even tell him what really happened between us," he cried, still looking at Cheetara, his eyes puffy and red from the pain of his loss.

-A few Hours before-

Liono had just run from the sight of the man he loved kissing the girl from his childhood. As soon as he had left though, Tygra had pushed Cheetara away and turned around, leaving a puzzled look on her face.

"What's wrong?" She asked, putting her hand on Tygra's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Cheetara, I can't do this…" he responded, closing his eyes, not trying to look at her as she came to stand in front of him.

"Is there someone else?" she asked, looking a bit hurt, but not too hurt.

"I'm not exactly, attracted to…" he tried to finish, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth, so Cheetara finished for him:

"Women," he nodded

"Sigh, why are all the good looking ones either gay or taken?" she tried to joke, but seeing how it didn't lighten the mood she sighed again and waited to see if he'd say something. Realizing he wouldn't she asked him if he would tell her who it was he liked.

"I, I think I'm in love with…" he hesitated.

"Who, who is it?" she pressed, closing the distance between them.

"Liono."

He expected her to be surprised, but instead she simply nodded her head, understanding, and held out her hand to lead him back to camp. Along the walk, Cheetara had asked if he's said anything to the boy yet, and upon hearing his answer, she scolded his hesitance and pressed him to say something. It seemed like promising her he would was the only way to end the conversation, so he did. They got back to camp after a few minutes more, but learned Liono wasn't back yet.

Tygra felt uneasy and immediately felt like something was wrong. He felt worry and it made him ancy and used this new energy to search everywhere. Cheetara helped him while the rest of the team sat either on or around the Thundertank. It wasn't too long before both cats returned, and learned about their missing leader.

-Present-

Tygra had led a search for Liono, hoping desperately that he survived the fall. His search led into nightfall the next day, and eventually his party became too tired to continue. Upon returning to camp empty handed, the Elder told the group that, in his opinion, one so small as Liono could not have survived, and if he did, he probably would not survive for much longer. The statement did nothing to ease their pain, and neither did the ceremony the Elephants hosted in honor of Liono help their grieving. Tygra cursed his body for tiring so easily on him, and he desperately wanted to continue searching for the boy who shared his feelings. Cheetara tried desperately to calm Tygra down, but eventually he decided to continue the search on his own, to no avail however, as the team followed him everywhere, as they searched every city along the river and past its end for the next year and a half.


	3. Speechless

-A Year and a half later-

"Hey, Leo, are you in there sweetie?" a giggly Panther knocked, looking for a certain Lion who she had yet to see this morning.

"Yes," he called, "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing, it's almost time for your shift to start, you don't want the rest of the Harem to get all the good business do you?" She giggled.

"You know I never get any business, but I'll be down in time."

"Alright hun, I'll see you down there then."

He heard her footsteps down the hall, and the Lion went back to preparing himself for the day. It had been almost two years since he had gotten here, almost two years since he washed up on the shore of that river, and was taken in by the owner of this Bar. After he had recovered, he offered to repay the kind woman by working for her here, however once he found out just what the women of this bar house did, he soon regretted that he had offered.

In addition to numerous entertaining activities, Women in this house could also be bought for a different kind of entertainment. One that Liono was relieved he had yet to experience. Being the only male in a harem of women may have its downfalls, but it also meant he was less likely to be bought for a night. Still, if working in a bar wasn't shameful enough, his "uniform" completed it. Not only was he always shirtless, but he was also asked to wear something revealing, and what they had in mind made him really start to reconsider what he was doing, but he already committed himself, and he wasn't one to go back on his word. But even still, Wearing a loincloth wasn't exactly something he had resigned himself to completely.

He may have never been bought, but he got his share of pinches, and by the end of the day, it was almost painful to sit down. He was lucky the bar made enough to pay their "employees" without having them sleep with anyone, but they kept the option open in case patrons wanted something else when they walked in.

After he had finished adjusting the green cloth to make sure it covered his privates and ass, or what coverage he could get out of it, at least half of each plush cheek was still exposed, and if you looked from the side it was definitely possible to see something of his package.

Sighing, he finished fighting with the garment and pulled up the toeless socks to his calves and slipped a gold bracelet around each wrist and ankle. Bearing only a slight glimpse of himself in the mirror, he dragged his feet towards the door and opened it, only to be met by the Panther he was sure he heard leave.

"I thought you left," he asked, walking past her and closing the door behind him.

"Yea I did, but there's some man down there who's looking for someone, and when he showed me a picture I immediately thought of you.

Liono asked if she had the picture with her, and upon showing the lion, Lion gasped. It was him, and when he asked what the man looked like, the Panther told him that he was a Tiger with some kind of green armor.

His eyes widened and he started to breathe heavy, to which the Panther asked what was wrong, however he wasn't about to tell her the truth, so he just told her that the man was an old ex who had been stalking him.

"Hmm," the Panther thought, he head in her hand. "Oh! I know, stay right here," she exclaimed, running back to her room down the hall.

Liono stood in the hall for about seven minutes before the Taller woman finally returned, carrying a pile of clothes with her.

"Go back inside, I have some new clothes for you," ushering him inside she closed the door behind them and turned to face the lion with her pile.

"Here try these on," she handed him the clothes.

Holding them up one by one, Liono was a bit peeved that the Panther's clothes covered more than his own. The pants were long and silky, fluttering freely at the ankle, while the shirt only went down to the middle of his chest. Though it was sleeveless, the collar did come up to mask the lower half of his face, and by the time he was done with the outfit, he looked more a bandit than a waiter for the bar below.

"Oh perfect!" The woman cried, pushing him in front of the mirror.

"What about my hair, I'm sure he'd recognize it," he asked, running his hands through the crimson locks.

"Oh pull the back of the collar up, it doubles as a hood."

She was right, and once he had fixed the cloth over his head, he thought this might actually work. Both cats exited the room and descended the stairs, stopping just before the curtain which led out to the bar area.

"Alright, now the only other thing is your voice, so try to hide it as best you can alright?" She asked, the lion already realizing he'd have to be crafty to pull this off. With one last "good luck," the panther pushed him through the curtain and into the bar.

Carefully, he walked around the bar to get his watering orders from the owner, and finally reaching the stout woman, he tapped her on the shoulder, making her jump.

"Oh, Leo? don't scare me like that lad." She said, holding her hand over her chest in surprise. They talked for a minute, most of the conversation about how weird she thought he looked in those clothes, but ending with a list of tables he was to cover.

He looked the list up and down until he saw it, he was to wait on that boy's table. Turning his head to look again, he saw the older boy, looking the same he did nearly two years ago. He tried to get that table off of his list, but She would not let him change the order, finally shooing him away to tend to his charges.

He decided to get to the tiger's table last, hoping he would leave by the time he got there. Instead he saw a certain cheetah, panther, and two kits walk in the door and sit themselves along with the Tiger. Liono didn't think his luck could have gotten any worse, but by the time he finished waiting on the other tables, he had to finally had to walk over there and risk being caught.

Luckily they didn't notice anything at first, but Tygra looked up as soon as he got to the edge of their table, and set his drink down, a gasp on his face.

The lion kept his eyes down the entire time, asking if any of them would like a drink. None of them responded, so he repeated his question, and only when one of the kits said they were fine did he smile and walk away, but heard "Was that…?" whispered amongst them.

For the rest of the evening the group watched him, trying to see if it really was who they thought it was. The Lion refused to go back to the table after that, hoping that if he ignored them that they'd leave. He saw the Tiger get up and walk over to the bar and talk to the owner, upon which she looked his way, catching his gaze, and whispered something in the tiger's ear. Next thing he knew, Liono was called over, and keeping his eyes down, he was told, in a very excited way, that the tiger standing next to him was thinking about buying him for the night.

Speechless, the lion could only stare at the man before the owner started speaking again:

"He does ask that before he makes his final decision, that you remove your hood Dear," She said, more of a command than a request.

He knew this was it, if he took off his hood, then the tiger would have his proof. He had to stall somehow, and rifled off the first thing that came to mind:

"I still have tables to attend to ma'am, surely this gentleman could wait until nightfall starts before asking my hand," he said, sweat forming under the cloth from anticipation.

"I have already taken care of that hun, Nima is going to take over your charges for tonight, now please, your hood," She finished, the annoyed edge in her tone daring him to question her.

Sighing deeply, he had no other options at this point, he looked toward the door, but the Tiger was in the way, he'd surely catch him before he made it past the end of the bar.

Bringing his hands up in defeat, he grasped the top of his hood, and pulled it back, along with the collar, away from his face, to which the Tiger could only gasp once again.

Liono kept his eyes closed and his head low until either of the two in front of him spoke, luckily, it was the woman:

"Beautiful isn't he," she asked, putting her hand on his shoulders, "Have you made your decision," she continued, leaning over the bar.

"Yes, I will take him," the tiger replied, bringing a bag of coins from his waist and placing it in front of the woman, the anticipation on her face shifting into a small grin as she pocketed the bag and moved around the bar, taking both cats by the arm and leading them past the curtain and up the stairs, stopping in front of the lion's given room.

"Your room, dearies, make sure to clean up when you are done," She winked, backing away slowly, but before she reached the stairwell, she turned to the pair and motioned for the Tiger's attention one last time:

"It's his first time, please be gentle," and with a final wink she descended the stairs, and the two were alone.

Liono still refused to look in the Tiger's direction, unwilling to be reminded of the last memory they shared.

A clicking sound echoed throughout the hallway, and the lion could hear the door opening next to him; a warm hand on his shoulder pulling him inside, gently, yet firmly. He stood at the door, and waited for the event to play out in front of him, The striped boy in front of him may have found him and gotten him alone after all this time, but Liono wondered if this cat could say anything to make him come back, he just hoped that he didn't.

"Liono," The Tiger started, edging closer to where the younger boy stood, "I've waited too long for this moment…"

"I hope your moment was worth the trouble then, Tygra," Liono hissed, "You're wasting your time here," he raised his head, trying to put anger and hatred into his eyes.

"I didn't come this far just to have you act like a child and brush me off, whether you like it or not you'll listen to me!" his voice radiating his desperation.

"I have nothing to say with you, so why don't you just scamper back to your Cheetah, I'm sure she'll lift her tail for you again, as I'm sure she has since I left, you can have her." He finished, turning back and reaching for the knob on the door.

"BUT I DON'T WANT HER LIONO!" Tygra yelled, coming up behind the lion and grabbing his arm from its frozen position on the doorknob and pulling the boy back around, to face him.

"I never got to explain what really happened that night, the kiss was unexpected, and I didn't ask for it:" When the Elder told us that you had left and why you did, I ran as fast as I could to find you, to tell you the truth, but…" He hesitated

"Why should I believe the "truth" now, you've had almost two years to come up with the "truth" and for what, to keep the guilt of Driving away Thundaria's king off your conscience?" he sighed, trying to calm down, "I'm done Tygra, leave me alone."

He tried opening the door, only to have the Tiger force it close, keeping his hand against the frame to assure the lion knew that no one was leaving yet.

"Tygra I sai-" Liono turned, and as he did, his chin was cupped by Tygra's free hand, and held the younger boy's face so that his lips met with the Tiger's when he finished turning. Caught off guard, disbelieving and unsure, Liono tried to force the striped boy off of him, but the latter's hand had left the door already, and now circled around the other boy's waist, keeping him right where he was, but wait…

Liono felt something, a tingling in his face, where their lips touched. He never felt this feeling before, it was like tiny sparks between them, and while the lion was unsure of this new feeling, he still fought against it. He was assured that it was just another trick his duplicitous "brother" was using against him in an effort to make him return to the life he had before.

If Liono could only, yes he did it, he moved his leg enough to give him a clear shot at the Tigers chest, and kicked, the thumping sound tell-tale of the connection. Tygra doubled over, clutching his chest and groaning from the pain. With the other boy on the floor, the Lion was free again, and wasted no time in flinging open the door and slipping into the hallway, making for the stairs before the other boy could recover and catch up to him.

"Liono, please, wait, I never got to tell you…" He tried, knowing that if the boy made it back down the stairs that his opportunity would be lost for good.

He wasn't sure why he did it, but he had stopped, at the top of the stairs. Was it the other boy's doing, was seeing him after all this time really making him second guess his resolve to resist. It's easy to avoid someone you cared for when you aren't around them, but seeing them seems to break down the barriers every time. Looking back in the direction of the room, he realized the choice that he had; either go back in there and listen to Tygra, and possibly return to the Thundercats, or keep walking and continue his life here. He was unsure whether he felt longing to go back to his old life, or unwillingness to stay here. Whichever it was didn't matter, for they both made him turn around and stand at the entrance to the room the Tiger was doubled over in.

"Tell me… what?" He asked, hoping this decision was the right one.


	4. Only in my Fantasies

Sorry this Chapter took so long, I had to really think about how not to make what I had originally wrote sound so cliché. While I still think it does a little, it feels a lot more original than my first draft. This is the Lemon, and there will possibly be 1-2 more as well, so if you aren't interested in hot steamy action, then please do not read and flame. Other than that, Working on Ch. 5 now, and i hope to get back to a regular updating status.

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><p>Tygra's head up in surprise, a relieved smile formed across his face, and trying his best to stand, he found that he was still in too much pain, so he looked back up at the lion looking down on him, his eyes pleading for help.<p>

Sighing his disbelief that he was letting himself fall for such a pathetic look, Liono walked inside and crouched down next to the boy, pulling one arm over his shoulder and putting his own arm around the boy's waist, hefting him up and leading him over to the bed, where he set him down on the edge. He sat down next to him, locking his hands together in his lap and keeping his head down, so that Tygra didn't see that Liono had become all hot and bothered from that minimal contact.

"Why… why did you come back?" Tygra panted, Liono could feel his eyes on him.

"It would be rude to leave without at least hearing you out first," he lied.

"Heh" was all the tiger said, knowing that the boy was lying.

"If you don't hurry up, I promise that the next time I leave, I won't come back," the younger boy warned, wanting this moment to be over with, out of anticipation for the outcome.

Several moments passed of Tygra still trying to catch his breath. Liono decided to force it out of him, and got up, making it look like he was leaving. Tygra let him get to the door before:

"I… Love you Liono" he breathed.

He never thought he would hear those words from him. That was why Tygra was searching for him, why he's here now, because he loved him? Liono could not believe it, he turned, letting his eyes meet with Tygra's.

And he saw it, in those eyes, the care and devotion. Where one's tongue could string lies, their eyes could not, and he saw that there was truth in his words, he saw that the boy on the bed across the room did love him.

"T-Tygra," Liono said, tearing up, the emotions in his chest finally released after all the time he had locked them away.

"Do you… love me?" Tygra asked, his desperation turning into pitiful anticipation for the answer he would receive.

"I thought I gave you enough of a hint at the waterfall, but in case I didn't, then let me make myself clear," walking back over to the bed, Liono straddled the Tiger's waist, and took his lips in a deep kiss, clearing up any doubts either of them had.

He felt it again, the sparks, and tingling. This time however, he knew it was right. Over a matter of minutes their kiss evolved into something far more passionate. It started with Tygra licking across Liono's lips, the lion's inexperience evident, but understandable. He parted them eventually, the Tiger's tongue moving inside to further the moment. Tygra had more experience with kissing, although he was a virgin, but he knew the boy on his lap was too. This common knowledge made things go a lot smoother. Neither of them had any expectations of the other, so they just simply let the passion loose and played along.

While their tongues wrestled furiously with each other, their hands were no different. Tygra was already taking off the other boy's shirt while the Lion was working on unfastening the armor the Tiger wore. Forced to stop fumbling with the straps and break the kiss, Liono lifted his arms so he could be rid of the shirt, but before he could continue on the breastplate, the older boy assaulted his chest, rolling one of his soft nubs between his teeth while his free hand tweaked the other. Overcome by the electricity thundering through his body from such play, the younger boy lost the strength in his legs and started to slide off Tygra's lap.

"Oh no you don't" the Tiger whispered, wrapping both arms around the Lion's back and lifting the boy up as he stood. From this position he could see the straps for the breastplate, so Liono took the opportunity and popped all four of them with a 'snap'. The back piece fell to the floor with a clang, and the younger boy threw the front one after it once he dislodged it from between himself and his love.

"Now that that's out of the way…" he started, leaning back so he could look the man holding him in the face; who had resumed with playing with the Boy's nipples as he fidgeted with the armor. As soon as the Lion had leaned back enough, the Tiger looked into his entrancing blue eyes, eyes as blue as the sky and then some, and saw that the way Liono was looking at him, reminded him of the way he had saw him on that cliff. He broke the stare and dropped his lover on the bed, pouncing on top of him, pinning him down.

"Promise me," Tygra said, catching the other boy's lips in a quick kiss before he continued, "Promise you will never leave me again."

The Tiger saw the tears well up in the other boy's eyes, but the smile that came with them gave him his answer, even before the Liono could say it himself…

"I promise, if you promise me the same." He replied

"Of course, I will never leave you, I will never abandon you," he whispered.

"My mate," Liono sighed as the tiger tweaked his nipples again, The word rolled off his tongue before he could catch himself, the weight of such a word so soon, but looking into the eyes of the older boy on top of him, watching them go wide so he could see every facet of their crystalline amber irises, he knew that what he said was the truth.

"Your mate, hmm?" Tygra asked, the excitement in his voice betraying his attempt to be serious.

"Yes, it's what I wanted for a long time; There was a time when calling you my mate existed only in my wildest fantasies, and seeing how my deepest wish has already come true, then there's no point in hiding anything else from you any longer."

All of the Tiger's fears melted away with each word the younger boy spoke to him, every word, drew his heart closer to where it was supposed to be. The doubts he had about coming here, about what would happen when he found his Lion, they were shrugged off like a worn-out coat, cast aside, and left out.

"I love you," Tygra told the boy as he undid the tie on his pants and slowly brought them down, making the bed creak as he crawled out of them, dropping them to the floor and then he leaned his head down, adding a whisper to his previous statement, "my mate."

Hearing himself say the word was one thing, but hearing the love of his life say it back made all of the most sensitive parts of his body go stiff. "You like that, hmm?" the Tiger asked, noting the boy's tense muscles as he unfastened the clasp on the last garment between the two of them and slid the piece off, depositing it along with the rest of their clothes.

Liono turned his head, his face on fire from embarrassment. "What's the matter Liono?" Tygra asked, leaning down to look into his love's face.

"I feel a little… exposed…" the lion admitted, not a scrap of clothing between the two of them, leaving both of their manhoods in plain view of each other.

"Don't be, were going to be doing this a lot more from now on," Tygra whispered as he bent down to embrace Liono's lips once again, grinding his erection gently against the male's under him. The Lion couldn't suppress his gasps and moans, he had never felt such pleasure and never imagined it would feel this good to have his lover's cock rubbing against his. Tygra worked up his pace as he ground faster and harder, moving his hand down to wrap around both leaking shafts and give them a few pumps as he thrust against the smaller boy's dick.

Liono was getting close, between the sparks in his mouth and the sensations at his crotch, he was feeling the familiar pressure in his stomach slowly edge its way to the base of his shaft. He didn't want the moment to end so soon, and it seemed that Tygra didn't want It to either, for he removed his hand and repositioned himself with his head close to Liono's ass.

Before the Lion could ask what he was going to do, the Tiger thrust his mouth around the tight entrance and licked at it furiously, his saliva coating the pucker and making it wet and slick. Liono never toyed with himself back there, and feeling the tongue lick over his hole and occasionally dart inside to wriggle around, he wasn't sure he would last until Tygra had taken him completely.

He was relieved when the larger male removed his tongue and sat up, licking his lips at the taste of Lion in his mouth. "Lift your legs for me love," Tygra asked gently, moving his cock, wet with his pre, closer to Liono's slick entrance.

"W-wait, don't you have to stretch me first, or at least get some oil or something?" Liono gasped, unsure how well he would be able to take the 9 inch long 2 inch thick shaft he was staring at with wide eyes.

"Don't worry about that, I'm sure you'll enjoy it just like this," the male said, lining himself up and slowly pressing himself in. The Lion gritted his teeth as he was forced open, the saliva making it slide in with ease, but his pucker clenching down on the intruder as it painfully stretched him.

When the head was Inside, Tygra bent down and took Liono into a kiss, working his mouth over passionately while his arms shuffled underneath the other boy's neck and back. When the Tiger started to push in again, he felt Liono's mouth scrunch up around his, gasps of pain on his breath.

Tygra broke apart to tell his Lion how wonderful he was doing, that only a little more needed to go in. Liono asked him to give him a minute, the five inches buried in his ass burning and splitting him. Tygra complied and sat there, craning his neck down to play with the soft nubs on the Lion's chest once again. When he felt the vice around his cock loosen, he inched himself in some more, stopping when he felt his mate's ass grip his cock again, and then shove the rest in when he felt it loosen a second time.

The rough penetration of the final thrust made Liono cry out in agony, the tears in his eyes streaming as he tried to relax his pucker. Tygra stopped moving, the incredible pressure and heat around his dick threatening to make him lose himself before he had a chance to properly breed his Lion.

He felt Liono loosen up a little, and moved his head to look into Liono's eyes, which met his instantly. "Are you ready?" he asked, planting small kisses along his lovers chest and neck until he locked his mouth around Liono's for a third time.

Liono moaned a yes through his mouth full of tiger tongue, and hissed when he felt the thick cock in his ass slide out, and then thrust back in. After several pumps, the pain started to fade, replaced by a growing pleasure.

"A-ah Tygra…" Liono sighed as he gripped the bed to try and ride through the passion. As their pace increased, all remnants of pain disappeared, replaced by only the steaming and sweaty love they were sharing. Tygra was shooting thick ropes of pre into him, each long strand coating his lover's prostate and making him moan wantonly as he was lubed up from the inside and stimulated well past what he could do by himself.

Lion was leaking freely, his dick more resembling a dripping faucet rather than a cock. He felt every shot of his lover's cream inside him, and knew there would be more to come. He couldn't help but relish in the sensations, throwing his head back against the pillow as his mate rammed his dick directly into the most sensitive part of his ass, blinding the Lion momentarily and making him yell in ecstasy.

'Shhh love, you're being too loud," Tygra winked, ramming his cock over and over into the smaller male's prostate.

"A-ah I c-can't when you're d-OOO-ing that, -huff-huff-" Liono replied, losing his voice as the Tiger picked up his pace to jack hammering speed. Each powerful thrust sent them both closer and close to orgasm, and Tygra moved his hand up to grip and pump at the Lion's cock while he bent his mouth down to grip the soft flesh at his lover's neck with his sharp teeth. Just as he felt himself start to shoot, Tygra clamped down on Liono's neck, making the other male moan and gasp and release his seed onto their stomach. While the lion was riding out his orgasm, Tygra was straining to stay up as the clenched walls of his lover's ass came down on his spurting dick, threatening to make him collapse from the overly intense pleasure.

They both collapsed against the bed, Tygra rolling over and throwing an arm over the Liono. He could taste the iron of the blood in his mouth, and could see the mating mark, dribbling a little blood from the sharp punctures on the Lion's neck. The Tiger curled his mouth up into a smile and leaned over to give his lover another kiss, a tired one, and not as passionate as before, but a loving one nonetheless.

Liono looked into his eyes and when he caught his breath, he whispered "I love you Tygra," so low that his love could barely hear him. But even barely, he still heard those words, and returned them inside another kiss.

When they parted, smiles on both of their faces, they only whispered one sentence each before drifting off to sleep:

"I'm sorry I left you…"

"I'm happy I found you…"


	5. This is Real

**I finished this Chapter in one day; start to finish. I felt bad for waiting so long to complete chapter four, so I put my potential into making Chapter five not only one of my best, but one of the fastest updates ever =D  
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><p>Sunlight broke through the curtains hanging over the windows, casting piercing blades of golden rays right into the face of a very sore Lion. He groaned and tried to roll over, but found himself caught between an arm encircled around his chest and a very solid mass pressing against his back. He turned his head and saw Tygra's face, calm and peacefully still sleeping, next to his own. He smiled, and remembered the events from last night, his hand subconsciously running over the mark on his neck.<p>

He could feel the warm breath on the nape of his neck, he could feel the ripple of every muscle on the Tiger's taught stomach against his back. This was his Tiger now, his mate. He was basking in the thoughts of how the future for them would play out now when there came a rapid knocking at the door, an incoherent squeal of voices coming from the other side.

Liono groaned again and told them to go away, but the knocking came again, and after several repetitions of the incessant noise, the Lion forced himself out of bed and into a robe he had hanging in the closet. The knocking came again and he yelled that he was coming, the frustration I his voice preventing any further noise against his door.

As he turned the knob, he found himself pushed back as the door was thrown open from the outside and three very excited women burst into his room. They were giggling and staring at the bed where his Tiger lay, making his eye's twitch.

"What are you doing here so early?" He asked them, blocking their view of the naked body lying on his bed. They peeked around him and giggled something about wanting to see who spent the night, earning each of them a bonk on the head and an angry stare.

They whined and asked him what that was for, but he pointed to the bed and with a very territorial voice said to them: "He is mine!"

They backed up a little when faced with Liono's jealous anger, and looked back to the bed again before scurrying out of the room and leaving them alone, trying to get in a few last peeks before their faces were smashed against the slammed door.

With the nuisance gone, Liono turned back to try and get some more sleep with his lover, but found himself instead with a mouthful of him. Tygra was wide awake and must have gotten up when the door shut, waiting to surprise his Lion with a good morning kiss.

This time, the kiss felt like a part of his daily routine, and Liono flushed himself up against the muscular chest. He could smell the scent of the male, seeping into his nose as if to never let him forget the smell. The euphoria that washed over him as the realization came again that this was his mate now warmed him from his core and threatened to bring about some early morning mating. But quickly regaining himself, Liono separated them and walked to pick up the clothes on the floor.

He tossed each one of the borrowed garments into the chair at the foot of the bed, and held each one of the Tiger's in his arm, the sweat and musk they exuded like a sweet narcotic. Tygra had went to sit down on the bed again, and watched as his Lion bent down ever so slightly to gather his clothes.

As he passed though, the larger male wrapped his arms around the smaller body and pulled it into his lap, rolling to lay it next to him so he could stare into its owner's face. The diamantine sapphire eyes belied the annoyed look, and Tygra trailed kisses up and down his mate's neck and chest.

Liono gave a little gasp, followed by a louder moan, and after he tried to tell the Tiger to wait until later.

"Why would you want to wait love?"

"Because when we do it next, I don't want it to be here."

"Are you looking forward to it?"

Caught by surprise, Liono tried his best to play it cool and ignore the question, but to the Tiger, the silence only seemed to scream a "YES!" Chuckling as Liono sauntered to the dresser and pulled the one set of clothes he owned, the ones he was found in.

Tygra watched as his mate dressed and he started to do the same, his eyes occasionally drifting over the other males body in territorial pride. When both of them were decent again, they tried to tidy up the room a little, although they could do nothing for the smell.

"So you assume she will just let you leave?" Tygra asked his lover, concerned that they wouldn't have an easy time escaping.

"I offered her my services and now I believe my debt has been repaid, but even still, she doesn't usually wake until well past noon. We shouldn't run into her at this hour."

Tygra nodded and they made for the door, silently opening it and gently creeping down the steps. Tygra said that they would need to find the others before they left, and Liono asked where they would be.

"We set up camp just outside the city, so if we are trying to find them, that is where they should be."

They made it into the bar and were at the front door in no time, however when they slung the door open to complete their escape, they ran into five very familiar faces. The first four were the rest of the group Tygra had come with, while the fifth was the stout and burly wench running the house.

She had a rather wide smile on her face, and while the other wrinkled their noses from the smell oozing from the couple, she trudged over and drug Liono into a bear hug, congratulating him. He asked her what she was talking about, and as a reply, she motioned first to Tygra, then to the rest of the assembly.

She informed him that these four explained what was really going on, and that it seemed the newly mated Lion was needed in far more important places than a brothel. Liono and Tygra gave each other an excited smile as everything worked out better than they hoped for.

The woman brought a small pouch from her pocket and cupped Liono's hands around it, telling him it was a parting gift she wanted him to have. He went to undo the strings, but she swatted his hands away and told him it was for "later." He cracked a smile, understanding very clearly what she meant. Her last gesture was a wave goodbye as she rushed back inside and closed the door, leaving the Thundercats reunited and on their way.

Liono wasn't used to being outside in so long, the sun on his face and the arm over his shoulder eclipsed his mind in bliss. He never thought he would be in this position again, traveling with his companions to hunt down the remaining war stones and defeat the incarnate of evil, Mum-Ra.

No one said anything save for Tygra, who was constantly whispering little things into Liono's ear about what he had missed over the past year. From what he said, Panthro and Cheetara were trying to spark a relationship, while the kittens were still the little trouble-makers of their bunch.

In addition, the team had already recovered another war stone and added it to the gauntlet of Thundaria, but without its chosen owner, it was useless. Liono recalled the glinting plate of gold he had left behind that day at the waterfall. They handed it back to him when they reached the Thundertank, obscured slyly by the over-protective panther.

It took the Lion some time to readjust himself to the fast paced life of traveling. The open sky at night, instead of a roof and warm bed; the foraging for food, instead of having three full meals a day; but the body holding him close as he slept, instead of being alone. He could live like this again, he had all he needed wrapped around him.

They had only been traveling for a few days, journeying north through the mountains, a constant sheet of snow thrown over them as they sped along the pristinely white landscape. Panthro personally had no problems with the cold, but then again, the Thundertank had a dome over the cab and was heated nicely, Cheetara was sitting up there too, trying to get a rise out of the panther.

The passenger bay though, was freezing, the kittens were curled up in the seats next to each other, a thick blanket tossed over them, leaving two little lumps the only sign they were under there. Tygra and Liono however, were wide awake, trying their best to keep warm with the thinner blanket they were left with.

"I-its s-s-s-so c-c-c-c-cold!" Liono whined, pulling the blanket closer, although it wasn't helping. Tygra gave him a glance and wrapped an arm around his mate, pulling him into his lap and now readjusting the blanket to wrap tightly around their new position.

"T-Tygra, w-what are y-you d-d-doing?" the Lion stuttered, his teeth chattering as he looked up into the snickering eyes of his Tiger.

"Trying to keep you warm silly," he replied, nuzzle his lover with his nose, chuckling and holding the smaller body close.

This position was much warmer than their previous arrangement, and Liono couldn't help but get a little drowsy as the heat radiating from his mate's chest started to seep into his back and warm him thoroughly. He finally closed his eyes and leaned back, resting his head against Tygra's shoulder, much to the other male's pleasure.

When Liono had drifted completely, Tygra pulled a hand from the sheet to stroke at the soft cheeks of his lover's face, pleased with the soft purr resounding in the other male's throat. If you had told him that he could ever feel this complete as a person, he would have probably called you a liar. That he's actually living with this new high, he still couldn't believe, and will try as hard as he could to protect his mate from anything that dared to try and hurt him.

"When we get Thundaria back, my love, I will give you the life you deserve…" he whispered into the smaller males ear, planting a gentle kiss on the lobe before leaning himself back as well, and embracing the sleep he had neglected since dawn…

Both were roused when their ride came to a jerking halt, tossing both them and the kittens to the front wall of the bay, slamming them against the frozen metal and then dropping them to land awkwardly on the floor. Liono landed in Tygra's lap, while the kittens both fell to the floor on their heads.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Wilykat cried while Wilykit whined and rubbed the bump forming through her hair. Liono and Tygra were both groaning, not only from being thrown so haphazardly, but from being woken from such a nice nap.

When they had gotten themselves together, Tygra poked his head out of the hatch to yell at Panthro for the jolt. When he saw the tower looming in front of them against the snow, He knew that asking why they had stopped would have been a stupid question.

Panthro called for him to shut the hatch and come on out, that they had to start working again. The tiger complied and back inside the bay, he unlatched the far wall and threw it down, letting the icy chill of the air pour into the chamber and freeze its inhabitants.

They all stalked through the snow, leaving the Thundertank behind to be buried in the relentless onslaught of powdery white ice. The front doors, two hulking boards studded with dented and worn rivets was easy enough to blast open, revealing a small inner chamber with a massive stairwell circling up the outer wall all the way to the top.

The kittens groaned at the stairs and were the first to start climbing, followed by the four adults who were trying to see if they could glimpse of the top. All they saw was a roof of wooden slats, most likely a floor for the one room it seemed this building held.

The temperature started to rise the higher they got, leaving them toasty and warm despite the blizzard outside. As they reached the base of the wooden roof, they were led into an opening where the stairs passed through the barrier and into a rather wide space which seemed to be belied by the structure's exterior.

In the opposite corner from where they came in, an old tattered banner bearing the symbol of the Thundercats sat motionlessly. There was a menagerie of junk piled into this one room, bookshelves bulging with old, well-used tomes, scrolls the size of a person, stacks of pots and pans, and even some things they had no idea how to describe.

"Hello?" Liono called, raising his voice to try and rouse whoever might live here.

"Panthro, are you sure this is where the book of omens meant for us to go?" Tygra asked, walking to stand behind Liono in case whomever lived here was not an ally.

"Of course I'm sure! This is where the book led us and this is where that blasted war stone is supposed to be!" Panthro growled, agitated by the Tiger's lack of faith in his abilities to follow a navigation system.

They spread out and started to look around after that, lifting up nick knacks and all sorts of miscellaneous objects in search of the last stone they needed to defeat Mum-Ra forever.

"You will not find the stone in here young ones," came a voice from above. The six cats crouched low into battle positions and stared up into the rafters, noticing a slightly swinging hammock that blended in nicely with the wood.

"Who are you?" Tygra asked, hand on the holster for his gun, readying himself to fire. The man above shifted himself in such a way as to roll the hammock over, and throw himself to the floor, revealing not only the attire of a cleric, but a face nearly as old as Jaga's.

"A better question would be, who are you all, seeing as how this is my humble abode into which you are intruding." The cats studied this elderly man for a little, judging whether or not he would turn aggressive. When he showed no signs of such, Liono responded that they are the last of the Thundercats, searching for the final war stone so they can obliterate Mum-Ra and the evil's he has unleashed.

The cleric absorbed the answer momentarily, pacing around the room from bookshelf to bookshelf until he came to stop at the one which sat second to last in the row. He grabbed a single book from the top shelf and held it under his arm, cleverly placing his arm around the cover and spine so as the title could not be seen.

"Well then, if you are indeed whom you say, then I see no reason to deny you lodging for the night, As for the war stone, however, I believe you might want to wait until morning."

"And why is that?" Cheetara said, her voice trying to be as calm and respectful as possible despite her frustration at being asked to wait for such an important task.

"Because, if you want to travel to its hiding spot tonight, I fear you would be trapped under all of this snow," he replied with a grin.

"Wait, you know where the stone is?" Liono gasped.

"Well, I never said I didn't know, you never asked. The stone you seek, is buried deep within the mountain outside that window, what do you think an elderly cleric like myself is doing out here in the middle of this perpetual winter?"

They all sighed; while looking for the stone was important, they knew that its keeper would most likely tell them nothing tonight. He guided the bunch to a large carpet on the floor, asking them to please sit and relax. They did so, Panthro and Cheetara, along with Liono and Tygra, sitting intimately close to each other. The kits looked at both couples, sticking their tongues out and making sure to sit well enough apart from each other.

The Cleric sat himself down on the open side of the circle, placing the book on his lap and looking at the travelers, as if judging them. With the book in its new position, all six cats could now clearly see the title; "Birthing." At first they thought the old man had something perverted in mind, but when he read the looks on their faces and berated them for such insolent thoughts, they instead hoped whatever he was going to do was appropriate.

"I'm quite certain that one of you is pregnant," He said, his voice even and his demeanor serious. The six cats gasped, the kittens, Panthro and Liono looking at Cheetara, while Tygra stared at his mate.

"Well, one of you is looking at the right person," He grinned, moving to look at Tygra, who looked back at him as if asking for confirmation.

When the cleric nodded, Tygra resumed his stare at the Lion, and couldn't help but bring a paw up to rub over the flat stomach. The others gasped, the kittens asking how a boy cold get pregnant, that he didn't have the parts.

"Now who told you that nonsense?" the cleric asked, his eyebrow raised in a curious manner. The kittens were left with mouths open, Cheetara sighed deeply with relief, and Panthro started to break out into a cold sweat as he stared at the other couple.

"I-I'm… pregnant?" Liono asked, his eyes wide as he too looked down at his flat belly, his hands on top of his mate's. The cleric handed the book to Tygra, who accepted it carefully, setting it in his lap and opening the cover, which to his displeasure made a creaking sound as the binding was stressed after so long.

Liono looked over his shoulder, and the others scooted to crowd around as page after page was turned. The first chapter dealt with how to become pregnant. Everything described a female, but when they turned to the last page of the chapter, there were scribbles as if someone had made adjustments to the text. When the six read over the new sentences, it described how a male could get pregnant, with some of the descriptions being completed in the delicate scrawl in the margins with little arrows pointing to its appropriate place in the text.

Tygra recognized the method, as they all did, Males got pregnant just like Females could, but as they read why, they learned some new, startling information. As the book implied, whomever bore the mating mark in the relationship, was blessed by the fertility goddess. In women, it increased their chance to produce, but in males, it gave them the chance to produce.

Liono's hand had been stroking along the mark as he read, feeling each little puncture of Tygra's bite beneath his fingertips. Once they had all finished reading, Tygra closed the book and went to hand it back, believing that was all the Cleric had meant for them to see.

"I have no need of such a book now, I believe you will find more use out of it. Besides, it goes into great detail on the proper methods of delivering kittens in a pregnant male. "

Tygra brought his outstretched arm back and held possessively onto the tome, understanding just how important it was going to be. He told himself to make sure he read the entire thing by the time Liono was due, and hoped further than when Liono was due, Mum-Ra would be long since dead.

Liono, however, could not bring himself to believe that he was really pregnant, and asked if the Cleric could prove it to him. The elder shook his head and said that unless someone had the training in the Clericy, they could not feel how the kittens aura Liono was carrying blended in with his own.

Cheetara spoke up, pointing out her affiliation with the Clericy to the man. He gave her a one over and sat there looking into her eyes for several moments, perfectly still.

"Indeed, there is the potential within you," he spoke, raising himself up and beckoning the Cheetah to a table near the window. Before he sat down though, he told the others on the floor that there were guest beds in the next room should they find themselves tired and in need of rest.

They looked to each other and asked him how a second room could exist in this structure as it is. They could see the door he motioned too, but doubted anything lied beyond it save for the bitter cold of the winds outside.

"Magic, is quite the funny thing," Was all he said before sitting himself at the table with Cheetara and beginning a conversation in a tongue that none of the five sitting on the floor could understand. Cheetara simply nodded as it seemed he finished a thought, and they assumed that it must just be a Cleric thing.

The Kittens were quite vocal about their curiosity with the door, and ran over to it, Wilykat placing one hand on the knob, and turning it, feeling the wood give way toward him as it swung on its hinges. There really was another room behind it. An impossibly large room, with several four-poster beds with thick curtains tied around them sitting along the edge on both sides. The space between the beds was large enough to fit two Thundertanks side by side, albeit they would have to move the large metal cylinder with glowing red vents.

This room was even warmer than the previous, and the kittens wasted no time in scurrying to two of the beds and tossing themselves onto them, purring as they sunk into the plush cushions. With the initial surprise out of the way, Liono led Tygra to one of the beds sitting catty-corned on the corners of the room, climbing up onto it and pulling his mate in with him. Just like the kittens, they sunk into the fabric, the soft sheets a wonderful treat after the days on end without a bed.

Liono hesitated to strip his clothing when he saw Tygra doing so, depositing everything he had been wearing moments prior onto the floor with a clunk between the armor plates. His mate clearly wanted him undressed with him, and quickly helped his lover shed his clothing as well. When the Lion was completely nude, he rushed to hide himself under the sheets, Tygra chuckling him the entire time, opting to lay on top of the covers, leaving himself exposed.

"Tygra get under the covers!" Liono whispered, checking the room to see that the kittens and Panthro weren't looking.

"I thought I'd tease everyone else a little," the tiger snickered, his playful expression worrying Liono. The smaller male suddenly remembered the curtains, and flung himself up onto his hands and knees so he could reach the cords holding them up and let them flutter down to hide the couple behind them.

When all the curtains were closed, Liono sighed and crawled back up to face his mate, barely able to see him in the dark, but able to see enough to know that this was the man he had fallen in love with.

"I can't believe it," Liono finally said through the silence, followed by a "me neither" from his mate.

"I can't believe that the love of my life shared my feelings, and not to mention that we also have a litter on the way," Tygra finished.

While Liono had been thinking about the latter of the statement, he also agreed with the former. He never thought Tygra would ever be the type to fall for other males, he had at one time thought it might make him weak. But seeing how protective Tygra got around Liono only proved that Tygra was probably the fiercest among all of them when his mate was in danger.

"What are we going to do about them?" Liono queried, his thoughts moving from his disbelief to the future. Tygra studied him for a moment, bringing his hand up once again to cress the smooth stomach of his lover. The hand felt good, and Liono couldn't help but to purr as the fingers traced along his subtle muscles, soothing the unease that had built up in the last few minutes.

"We are going to be their parents, hopefully in a safe home in a safe country. When you are ready to give birth, I want Thundaria to be ours once again." The words Tygra spoke relaxed Liono's heart, he trusted those words. With the final war stone close at hand, his mate's hopes seemed as though they would come true.

The Lion drifted off to sleep peacefully, his mate's arm wrapping around and pulling him close as his head was filled with pleasant dreams of a world without Mum-Ra, without evil. As he gave himself over to the night, he could only smile as he saw images of he and his mate, surrounded by dozens of little kittens laughing and as happy as he was.


	6. Desperation

** I want to thank everyone who has reviewed this work and want to encourage any reader to review when they are finished. Although i prefer no flames, feel free to tell me how you really feel, the criticism definitely helps me make future chapters and stories all that much more enjoyable. This means if you find any grammar errors or something doesn't seem to flow right within the plot, please let me know, I try my best to catch all the mistakes before when im editing, but something that may sound right to me may not sound right to everyone else. **

I wanna' give a shout out to my friend Jaelya who read all five first chapters this morning and gave me her feedback, every little bit helps like I mentioned above.

And without further Adieu, enjoy Chapter 6, Desperation.

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><p>The couple only slept a few hours, being woken up by the sounds of explosions and the clatter of rubble. As soon as they sensed the danger, they both scrambled for their clothes and hastily pulled them on, Liono finishing first and running to the door with his gauntlet mounted on his arm and sword drawn. Tygra snapped the last buckle of his chest plate and joined his mate in standing at the door, both gaping as they saw that beyond it, was what remained of the tower.<p>

The door floated carelessly above the wreckage, seemingly oblivious to the structure it was supposed to be connected to. As the two surveyed the rubble, occasional bolts of lightning darted from someplace to their right. Looking to it, they saw their cleric host battering several lizards with his mystical might, while Cheetara could be seen sprinting around nearby, smashing skulls with her staff when she bolted within range.

There was no sign of Panthro or the kittens, both absent from the room. The Lion and Tiger looked to each other and nodded, crouching down to hop from their precarious position defying space and time and into the fray. Liono dropped onto one unsuspecting enemy, driving his sword through their skull and then throwing the body aside, into several enemies who noticed his entrance and tried to charge him.

Tygra, on the other hand, made a spectacle of his jump, cracking his whip midair and camouflaging himself with the air around him, firing one of his guns rapidly into several lizards who fell helpless and startled. The battle raged, the swarm of reptilian attackers nearly endless, threatening to overpower the Thundercats.

To make matters worse, several flashes of a sickly green light flooded down from above, coming within inches of two of the heroes. As several of them beat back their groups of enemies, they looked up and saw Grune falling into their formation. Panthro intercepted him as he struck the ground in a roll. Nun-Chucks gleamed and swirled swiftly, striking against the Sabertooth's oblong mace and striking sparks into the snow.

As the reptiles started to diminish in numbers, the remaining tried desperately to either capture of kill those who were repelling them. Liono had just finished slamming his gauntlet into the face of one unfortunate lizard who thought to hit him from a blind spot, while a second had better luck and wrapped himself around the Lion's waist, throwing him to the ground and grappling with him.

Tygra saw the struggle, and rage overcame him, the sight of another touching his mate drove him to sprint the distance between them, grabbing the aggressor by the throat and ripping him from the smaller body and, with unnatural strength, throw him into the air, firing several shots into his thick hide and then casting his whip to wrap around one of his flailing limbs. With a rough yank, he expended all of his fury to drive the beast into the Earth, the sound of cracking bones and splitting flesh sating his bloodthirst.

With the threat dispelled, Tygra rushed to his mate, helping him to his feet and running his hands over his body gently to check for wounds. Liono brushed him away and said he was fine, just caught by surprise. Satisfied everything was alright, Tygra resumed the battle, however, he stuck closer to the smaller male, not going to risk letting his Lion get hurt.

When the last of the lizards had been either vanquished, or had retreated, the only one left to stand against them was Grune, still locked in combat with the Panther, sweat forming on his brow and the fury of his rival bore down on him, finally forcing him to collapse onto his knee in exhaustion.

He flexed his mace, the familiar green glow charging for a point blank shot as Panthro drew his Nun-chucks back for another blow. Grune smiled as he gripped his mace hard, finalizing the charge just as Panthro brought his fist down. His shot never fired, a glint of gold rushed past him, something hard cracking his skull and throwing him off balance.

He managed to lean himself up on his elbows, ignoring the blood running down the side of his face. His mace lay a little ways away, the two shattered pieces making the sabertooth growl and try to stand, only to have a thick foot slam into his chest, forcing him to the ground again. He looked into Panthro's face for the final time, the perpetual frown across the dark face his last thought as a heavy shaft of red metal spun just in front of his face before ramming full force into the top of his head, the crack of his own skull the last thing he heard as his body quivered, freshly killed.

With the death of this particular servant to the incarnate of evil Mum-Ra, the Thundercats visibly sighed their relief. Panthro kept his frown, leaving the body to return to sit in the Thundertank. The others didn't say a word, leaving him alone was the best for now.

"They had to have been here for the stone," Liono said, receiving nods from the rest of the cats. The elderly Cleric turned to look into the face of the mountain in which the stone hid, and narrowed his eyes. A dark cloud was forming in the distance, moving slowly across the horizon like a plague. He cautioned them that the battle was far from over, and directed their attention to the colossal phenomenon.

"Mum-Ra," Tygra said, a sound between a hiss and growl caught in his throat. They didn't stop to watch the cloud any longer, rushing soundlessly through the snow and toward the stone they needed in order to vanquish the threat sauntering across the sky. When the Cleric reached the bottom of the gargantuan rock, he pressed his hands into the frozen stone and muttered words of an unintelligible language. He gripped the stone as best he could, and it gave way as he literally pulled the rock away. With both hands holding a large piece of rock each, he muttered again, and crashed the stone into the snow, a loud resounding echo filling the area as cracks ran from the impact, up the wall in front of them, and split the mountain apart.

As the Earth sundered at the Cleric's hand, licks of emerald flame poured from several cracks at the top, obliterating the stone it caught and revealing what the others could only assume was the final war stone. After a moment, the flames died down, causing the gemstone to fall from its previously suspended position and bounce with light pings down the jagged rocks of what remained of its prison.

It seemed to fall in a peculiar way, such that it fell right into the outstretched palm of the Cleric, who gripped it tight and once again looked to the sky, to watch the abysmal mass of darkness pool overhead, blotting out the sun and plunging them into shadow.

As the clouds filled the area, the center spiraled, casting bolts of thin purplish-black lightning into the surrounding wilderness. A screeching voice could be heard from inside the listless oblivion, the bolts which escaped from its center catching everything it touched in a sickly blaze of violet flame. When the screeching increased suddenly, the clouds seemed to distend, finally birthing a familiar and gruesome form, bandages and golden plates littering the body as Mum-Ra the everliving descended from his lightless abode, eyes narrowed and glowing with the same fire which ran rampant all around them. As his feet touched ground, the snow around him melted instantaneously, the vapor rising and fogging the area.

"So this is where the final war stone has been hiding eh?" he started, eyes fixed on the fist of the Elder standing several feet away. When the Cleric turned and grabbed Liono's hand, setting the stone down inside it, Mum-Ra broke his gaze from the stone long enough to stare at the Lion contemptuously. With the Cleric's hands now empty, he turned back to the incarnate of evil, and stretched his hands out, preparing himself for the forces Mum-Ra would surely invoke.

"Arrogant fool, you think your magic can match against mine?" Mum-Ra sneered, raising his arms in a similar fashion.

"It matters not whether I am a match enough for you, I simply need to distract you for a moment for two."

"Fool! Revealing your plan in the face of the enemy will assuredly lead to your own demise!" the hulking figure yelled, his hands crackling as hellish amber runes tore themselves into the air, forming circles above the palms as Mum-Ra whispered his magic on the edge of his breath, watching the runes scatter before him, targeting the Elder defying him.

In a quick motion the Cleric spread his arms wide as if to embrace the siege hurtling toward him. Just as the first of the runes neared, however, he brought his hands together in front, the resulting sound resembling more of a thundering boom rather than a clap as a shockwave broke free from in between his palms, radiating out and deflecting the attack.

This lasted for several minutes, Mum-Ra conjuring spell after spell, only to have it either blocked by a shield or deflected by another attack. Meanwhile, behind the Cleric, Liono fumbled with the stone, holding it over the golden gauntlet and tapping its center facet to the metal, feeling it give way to the emerald. As it sunk inside, the lion could feel raw might surge through him, the gauntlet complete with the final addition.

When the stone had settled, the gauntlet shifted, extending its base and breaking into plates which slid over Liono's body, hovering a moment over their rightful spots until they pressed onto him and stuck. When the final pieces of the armor were firmly attached, Liono gave the new form a few test swings, getting a feel for the added bulk and weight.

When the Elderly Cleric cried out, the Lion looked up to see one of Mum-Ra's spells assaulting a large and glimmering shield. Liono knew he couldn't hold out much longer, and rushed through the snow to intercept the magic. As he brought the sword up in front of the searing purple flames, they flickered around the metal, but otherwise pressed against it now instead of the shield.

The Cleric collapsed, exhausted from exerting so much force in his old age. Cheetara was to his side immediately, lifting him as best she could and helping him get out of the way. With the clash between powers underway, Liono called upon the war stones power to imbue his sword as they did in the past for Leo. When they responded by twisting glowing strands of magic through the blade, Liono pressed his attack, driving away the evil fire and rushing the dark mass in front of him.

Just before his sword caught in the spirit's neck, Mum-Ra jumped high, laughing maniacally and whispering once again, but instead of runes, crimson beams of light shot from the clouds overhead and bathed the two in unholy rays. Liono cold feel himself become lightheaded, and had to look away from the blinding beams. As they died down, he hastened to look back again, but Mum-Ra was nowhere to be found. He wasn't above, or anywhere around him. It was like he just vanished.

_"Not quite foolish boy, hehehehehe!"_ Liono Fell to his knees as pain seared through his head. He could clearly see the spirit in his thoughts, toying with his head like a plaything. _"What does it matter if you have the war stones, I can kill you without you even being able to defend yourself!" _he whispered victoriously. The Lion could feel himself losing consciousness, his final sight being his mate running over to crouch next to him, to which the Lion could only stutter Mum-Ra's name, and say he was inside his mind. Liono passed out immediately after that, not even feeling the incredible chill of the powdery snow he landed on.

"Liono!" Tygra yelled, rolling the smaller male over and tapping his cheek. When he didn't respond, Tygra started to break out into a worried sweat, feeling powerless that he couldn't protect his Lion when the problem was inside him. He was furiously shaking the male when Cheetara slumped over with the Cleric, barely alive, in her arms.

The sat next to the Tiger and his mate, their own concerned looks going unnoticed to the larger male. Cheetara made a move to Touch Liono's face, but Tygra's eyes shot to her and told her to leave him alone. As she drew he hand back and gaped at the snarl he gave her, the Cleric spoke up.

"Mum-Ra is inside him then? Why are you not aiding the boy?" He asked the Tiger, who shot his head over and yelled that he couldn't help Liono if the problem is inside his head.

"Why can't you? You and this boy have an exceptionally deep relationship transcending most others. If you truly wanted to help him, then all you had to do was try." The Cleric's stern look received a scowl from Tygra, who broke the stare to look over his mate's face, now paling as his body started to get colder.

"Mum-Ra is the incarnation of evil in the world, If he has entered the one you love, then who is to say that the love you share can't drive him out? Hasn't it become quite cliché that "Love overcomes all obstacles?""

The Clerics words bore deep into Tygra, his desperation giving him no help, but clinging to the hope that this elder was right. Tygra leaned his head down close to Liono's ear, so that his words would not carry on the wind.

"Liono, my mate, I believe in you, you are stronger than Mum-Ra, and I am here to help you, I will always protect you, because I love you." As Tygra finished, he brought his face to hang over his lover's lips, pressing against them gently with his own, closing his eyes and feeling himself start to lose feeling in his limbs. He tried to fight the drowsiness that started to creep into him, finally taking his consciousness away as the body slumped against the Lion's, leaving Cheetara to yell and start shaking the large male.

Tygra felt himself being drawn somewhere, thousands of images and sensations flying past and through his as he was pulled along. When the force stopped, the images dissipated and the sensations fled, leaving him alone in the darkness, or so he thought. He could hear low voices, one of them sounding weak, while the other sounded malignant, like a life-threatening cancer.

Tygra looked around, but all he saw was a dim light in the distance behind him. He gave the other directions cursory looks, and seeing nothing else, he moved toward the light, hoping he could find answers about this place there.

As he drew nearer, the malignant voice cleared, and he recognized it, it was the spirit! And the low one, it was faint, and Tygra was having trouble believing it sounded like Liono. When the lights finally came into view, Tygra could clearly see his mate hanging by his arms in mid-air. Mum-Ra came into view next, a red-hot spear in his hand.

Tygra moved as fast as he could, trying to call out in anger at the spirit, but finding himself mute, and now frozen, unable to move any closer. To his horror, Mum-Ra thrust the spear into Liono's chest, removing it just as quick, and watching the wound smolder and close itself up, looking brand new. Tygra felt rage build up inside him again, he isn't able to protect his mate like this, lucid and silenced.

Tygra grew hot, steam forming at his feet and moving up until he was exuding vapor from all over his body. Liono was the first to see the Tiger, a surprised gasp on his face as his eyes locked with his mate's.

"Liono, I swore I'd protect you, and I am going to, I am going to save you from this hell, I SWEAR IT!" Tygra screamed as he felt fire burn through him, drawing the attention of Mum-Ra, a slight frown on his face.

_"What a pathetic interruption…" _he stated, moving to close in on the Tiger. As he got close though, the bandages on his body started to shrivel, catching fire in several places, making the spirit stop to examine them, looking between them and the smoking tiger.

Tygra willed himself to move, his eyes radiating his determination. One by one his legs started to move him, slowly at first, then faster as he kept his gaze on the incarnation of evil in front of him. Mum-Ra's expression started to fade into worry as the form neared him, the heat he was radiating engulfing the flammable cloth on his body easily and burning the hideous lilac flesh underneath. Mum-Ra started to fly away in the opposite direction, trying to outrun this beast on his tail. His powers were failing him, every time he tried calling for a burst of energy to shoot at the figure gaining on him, his hands would just sizzle and spark, but otherwise remain powerless.

"You will not escape you monster, how dare you harm my mate, I"LL KILL YOU!" Tygra was lost in his passion, forcing himself to catch up to Mum-Ra so he could rip his throat out and disembowel him. No one gets away with hurting his mate, he would make him pay with his life!

Mum-Ra's eyes widened and he yelled for the beast to stay away, Tygra's body growing in size until he was three times his normal height, his paws encircling around the spirit to trap him. Mum-Ra tried his magic one more time, only to have his hands sizzle once more as his magic failed. A colossal set of claws came down and left wide gashes across his chest, spilling his ghastly green blood across this dreamscape.

Liono watched as the vents played out, unaffected physically by the fires, but mentally, he was afraid. He did not like seeing his mate like this, his anger threatened to consume him. He struggled against the bonds, the hold on him feeling looser. He finally forced his hands free, falling to the floor in a crouch, the pain from the torture Mum-Ra had put him through still affecting him.

He bore the pain and got to his feet, willing himself faster so he could stop his mate before things got out of hand. He knew that Tygra wasn't in control right now, he knew that the tiger cared a lot for him, as he did for the Tiger. That is why he had to stop the rage, It was enough to burn away the evil invading his mind, but what happened when it was gone?

Liono reached Tygra's smoldering foot, and moved around it to look up into Tygra's face, warped and twisted into a vicious snarl as he clawed out Mum-Ra's chest, only to have it regenerate with each scream the spirit yelled.

"Tygra," Liono started to whisper, his voice too weak to be any louder, "I want my Tygra back."

Inside the beast aflame, rampaging against the evil inside the Lion's head, Tygra's real spirit shifted as he felt the unbearable heat of his anger radiated from his core, his eyes never leaving the target of his revenge. He was so caught up, that when a gentle whisper fluttered into his ear, he ignored it. As it kept pestering him though, his mind wandered to understand the soft words. "I… Ty…ck" he couldn't understand. He ceased his onslaught against Mum-Ra to focus on the words, hearing them clearer and clearer each time they were repeated. "I want…Tygra…. I want my Tygra….. I want my Tygra Back…" that was Liono's voice. Tygra looked all around him, but saw the male nowhere. He thought Mum-Ra was screwing with his head, and raised his foot to crush the abomination under his heel.

"No! stop please, Tygra, my love, don't do this, this isn't you!" the voice's desperation increased. Tygra scowled at the persistence of what he thought to be Mum-Ra's tampering, but as he looked down to watch his foot come up, he saw a small body just underneath it. They looked wounded and weak, standing in the space looking up, directly into the tiger's eyes.

Even from his position, Tygra could see the familiar glint from the turquoise eyes. He saw tears glittering down from them, and felt his anger start to slag off of him. "Liono?" Tygra dislodged himself from his flaming avatar to float down and land in front of the male, looking into his eyes and seeing the worry and relief.

"Liono?" Tygra asked, his expression falling at the look he was getting.

"Tygra, I didn't think I'd reach you in time," Liono sighed, his mouth curving into a small, pitiful smile.

"You almost didn't…" the Tiger responded truthfully, remembering how light the voice had been when he first heard it whisper into his ear.

"I'm glad I did though, I didn't want to lose you," the tears in the smaller boy's eyes picked up again, dribbling down his face as he moved into Tygra's arms.

"I will never leave you Liono, I will always protect you, anyone who hurts you will have to answer to me," Tygra tried to comfort, but Liono shook his head.

"I am the lord of the Thundercats, I expect to get hurt."

"I don't want you to Liono, I want you to be happy and healthy always."

"Then promise me you won't lose yourself like that, promise me that you won't make me worry about you becoming a slave to your rage." The words caught the Tiger off guard, and he thought them over as the Lion in his arms came closer. Tygra had never realized that Liono felt that way; did he really lose himself to his anger? If Liono was really worried about it, then Tygra had no choice, if he really did get that way, then he wouldn't want to accidentally hurt his family trying to protect them.

"Liono," Tygra whispered into his lover's ear, "I promise you." The Tiger felt his mate relax into his arms, and hugged him tighter. This was a different kind of heat, the one between their bodies was stronger than any weapon they had. Tygra didn't want to let this moment pass, but a groaning from behind them reminded both cats that there was one particular thing they still had to take care of.

Mum-Ra had been trying to recover from the vicious rending he had received. Although he could not die in this place, the pain he felt was very real, and even went so far as to leave several scars across his now pale body. His magic had failed him, he was losing his tether to this place, and he was weakening.

Two cats moved to stand in front of him, and as he looked up into their eyes, he saw that the wild emotions which had ravaged him in the first place, were replaced by more focused ones, focused into a sharp point, which was aiming directly at him.

Mum-Ra tried desperately to summon his magics again, but only succeeding in making a little bit of wind, not nearly enough to drive back these two. He was practically immobilized, his eyes widening as Liono summoned the sword of omens into his hand, raised it over his head, and brought it down to pierce the incarnate of evil's heart, or what little was left of it, if he even had one at all.

The wail which proceeded shook the entire space, the perpetual blackness which stained it melting away as the final vestiges of Mum-Ra the everliving were vanquished from both Liono's mind, and the rest of the World.

With the two cats finally alone, Tygra nuzzled the smaller male gently on the nose, walking with him for a little bit through Liono's head, which had now changed into a hill in springtime, the sun high over head, and sunflowers blooming all around them.

Tygra couldn't help but feel so at peace here; his mate brought him peace. They started to hear voices calling them from far off, and reluctantly they realized they had to leave. With one last kiss, they started to slowly fade away, regaining their consciousness in their real bodies.

The sun had already set, and the two cats awoke in the Thundertank, a thick blanket thrown over top of them. They both grabbed at their heads, the splitting headaches they had tearing through them like nothing else could. Cheetara handed them a bottle of water to share, and it was gone in a matter of seconds. Although it was refreshing, it didn't do much to ease their heads, so they opted to rest some more, with Mum-Ra finally destroyed for good, they deserved some time alone together. So as Liono scooted himself against Tygra's chest, and the Tiger threw an arm over them, they both found it easy to drift off. However, just as sleep was about to snatch them both away, Liono felt a spasm in his stomach, and was sure Tygra felt it too.

"THE KITTENS!" Liono yelled, bolting up and rising to his feet, startling everyone else. Cheetara rushed to his side and put a hand on his stomach, asking him what happened. Liono told her that Mum-Ra had stabbed him with a spear inside his head, through his chest several times, and sometimes through his stomach.

The elderly Cleric was sitting against the opposite wall, his face upturned into a slight smile of amusement. "Liono, do not worry yourself about what transpired in your head, we kept a close watch on your physical body, and no harm was done to you out here."

Liono still wasn't sure, and tentatively put a hand to his stomach, looking back to Tygra sitting on the floor, his eyes wide. Cheetara ran her hand over the Lion's stomach, and Liono felt little tingles as she did it, hoping she was just checking to make sure everything was all right. Just as Liono started to relax, the hand was jerked away, and Cheetara was looking at the elder Cleric.

"How many kittens is considered a normal litter for a male couple?" she asked, staring at him intently.

"Hmm, I believe it was two to five, what's the matter?"

"I detect six inside Liono…"

Hearing the number made the Lion's head spin, and he had to sit down to grasp what she had said. Six kittens inside him right now? How in the hell was he going to give birth to six kittens? What would he name them? The thoughts swam through his head, but a warm arm on his shoulder pulling him down made him look over to his mate, seeing the comfort and excitement radiating from those mahogany eyes. Liono decided to save the conversation for later, both the defeat of Mum-ra, and finding out he was going to have six kittens exhausted him. Just before he drifted off though, he turned his head to ask Cheetara if all of them were alright, neglecting to ask before. As soon as she said all of them were perfectly healthy, Liono found the final tidbit of peace he needed to get perhaps the best night of sleep he ever had, even if it was on the floor of the Thundertank.


	7. Reconstruction

**Okay everyone! **here is the full Chapter 7.

It took me awhile to figure a few things out, but I finally got to the point where I really liked what I had working here. Sorry for the elongated time between this and my last update, but writing something that is meaningful and isn't filled to the brim with cliches takes a little more thought :3

To make this easier, I added a line break after my preview section, so if you've already read up to that point, you can skip down and start reading under the line. please note that when you are reading, the preview was just a preview, and after the preview is still the same night, just seconds after where I ended the preview.

My Poll is still open if you want to vote on the genders of Liono and Tygra's kittens, im thinking of editing it though, so I will probably do that when I'm finished posting this chapter.

As always, please feel free to review when you've finished reading, The criticism helps me write better and the wonderful comments I've received are a real confidence booster. Thank you to everyone whose read Forever up to this point and liked it, I promise there is still much to come [figuratively and literally :P].

Please enjoy the latest installment of Forever. Chapter 7: Reconstruction!

* * *

><p>The months had been slow, each brick set back into its place as buildings were raised down the streets of Thundaria. When the Thundercats had returned to what was left of their home, They were surprised to find some people were still lingering. Although nearly most structures had been leveled many months before, there were a few which looked safe enough to take shelter in.<p>

As Liono and his mate wandered through this portion of the city, they were greeted by smiles and cheers as each worker turned to watch them go by. Everyone who lived under the crest of the Thundercats had been loyal to Claudus, and it seems that in his death, their loyalty has carried to his son. While his coronation as king had been postponed for several more weeks, at Liono's request, The citizens were already treating the Prince as if he already bore the crown.

Liono had received similar treatment even when his Father still lived, but every time he would a "Good afternoon your majesty," or a "You are looking very handsome today your majesty," he would start feeling the memories of his Father welling up from inside him.

He made a point to tell every citizen he came across to call him Liono, feeling that the title of "his majesty" still belonged to Claudus, that, and it made him uncomfortable every time he heard it. Only a few of the citizens frowned at him at his request, while the others just kept their smiles and bid "his majesty" a wonderful rest of the day.

The reconstruction was coming along faster and better than he had seen it play out in his head. The Clerics and royal guard had returned when they heard of Liono's own return, which made things go much smoother. He could never have coordinated all of this himself, and was feeling exceptionally lucky and proud that Tygra, at least, paid attention during their lessons as a child.

The Lion felt guilt creep up his back and claw at his heart, feeling horrible that his mate was left to handle the politics of the matter while Liono only bore enough knowledge to supervise and boost morale. Liono confronted Tygra about his feelings numerous times before, with each resulting in his lover assuring him that he could handle this, that the people needed someone to look up to, and they couldn't do that if their King was holed up in the palace ruins all day.

Liono forced himself to agree, and often was left to walk around during the construction work. He would make idle conversation here and there, lend a hand with this small project or that. No one would let him do anything on a large scale though, like help set bricks or paint or anything like that; they said that such laborious tasks as those were not fit for the King.

The words, no matter how many times he heard them, made him feel powerless, even though he held the power of Thundaria now. As he wandered around, passing through this intersection, or maneuvering over large obstructions in the street, he couldn't help but berate himself for how useless he was being. He looked around and saw everyone working hard to rebuild everything his Father had strived to protect, and when he looked down at himself, he saw only empty hands, a clean body, no sweat, and no smile.

Enough of the palace remained that Liono and Tygra could share the small dinner they had with the rest of the Thundercats. The large hall they sat in now, after a long day of work for most of them, was roofed to block out the setting sun, but with open windows to let the breeze waft in. With the royal guard and Clerics, the palace attendants also returned. Liono was forced to get used to being treated like a Prince again; there was always someone serving him something it seemed.

The Lion only picked at his meal, pushing the meat around on his plate as his thoughts swirled in a similar fashion. Everyone around him had already finished, and were looking down the table at Liono with worried expressions.

"Liono…" Tygra started, sitting closest to the Prince, putting his hand over the smaller one on the table and catching the dim turquoise eyes that came up to see him. "What is the matter, is there something wrong?"

"I am completely useless, no one is letting me work with them, I don't have the capacity for the politics; everyone treats me like I'm a kid when I want to help," Liono responded, resuming to play with his food while Tygra tried to come up with a response.

"But you are helping Liono."

"Explain to me how I am helping when all I'm allowed to do is walk around the streets aimlessly every day?"

"Why do you think everyone else is working so hard, if there was no King to lead them, then what point would there be in reviving a nation?"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that, the people see you and know that you will be there to protect them and lead them. They know that you have done the fighting for them, they know that you vanquished the evil from our land, and want to thank you for it. As to why they won't let you help, well, I'm not entirely sure, but I think they might be concerned you'd get hurt, and they don't want to see anything happen to you."

"It will take much more than a brick or a branch to kill me Tygra," Liono said, raising his head to look once again into the mahogany eyes that were watching him.

"They know that, but they want you to rest now, you saved them from Mum-Ra, so they want to do the rest of the work."

"I am more than recovered, I am able and I am strong, I don't like sitting on the sidelines and watching everyone else busy, and me, well, not."

Tygra could only sigh, he didn't think he was getting through to the smaller male. He had no problems whether his mate wanted to help or not, but everyone else did had a problem. He was frustrating himself over something so menial. Liono went through one of the most difficult fights he had ever been in only a few months before. They returned home nearly a week later, and began reconstruction two days after they got back.

All of those events should have worn the Lion out, he should be happy that he has some time to relax now. Tygra thought having this time to himself would do the other male some good, he felt that they had spent too much time traveling, scavenging for food and sleeping in the cold of each night. That Liono still wanted to work concerned him, he didn't think his mate could handle anything else right now, but it seems that leaving him alone isn't a good option anymore. The Tiger went through his schedule for the rest of the week, hoping that he could leave matters in the hands of the temporary council they instated during the repairs.

When Liono pushed his plate away and bent forward to lay his head in his arms on the table, Tygra felt twinges in his chest and decided he couldn't leave his mate feeling like this. He excused himself and bid the rest goodnight, pulling Liono's chair out and helping the other male up and holding his hand as he pulled him through the shattered hallways. There was only one room in the entire palace that had remained completely unharmed, and was thankful his stepfather had been so paranoid as to make his own room a barricade. When they reached the thick wooden doors near the end of the ruins, Tygra pulled the door open with one hand, and pushed his mate inside with the other.

This was the room they had been using since the returned, finding it as they scoured the palace for anyone who might be finding shelter. Most of the room had been repositioned by now, the bed sitting on the opposite wall, the dresser moved to the wall farthest from the door, and so on.

The first time Liono set foot in here, Tygra thought he wouldn't be able to stop the tears, everything in this one space reminding both of them of their Father. As time went on though, Liono didn't cry as often, and hadn't even teared up in the past few days.

Tygra stood behind his lover now, wrapping his arms around the slender waist and holding the male close to him, resting his own head into the crook of the soft neck. Liono relaxed against him, and he felt himself relax as Liono took a deep breath and put his hands over Tygra's arms running his thumbs over them as the Tiger started to rock back and forth.

This was something he found himself doing often nowadays, and it was the only thing he knew could calm his love down. It wasn't any sort of romantic or erotic embrace, it was more of an affectionate gesture, one that said "I will always be here for you." Liono would often start to fall asleep as Tygra held him, and would leave the Tiger to carry the other male over to the bed and tuck both of their bodies in. Tygra himself would often stay awake worrying about whatever was worrying the Lion breathing in small, cute gasps next to him, but would always end his thoughts with how happy he was with this little Lion, the smile on his face sticking as he fell asleep to the edges of his oncoming dreams.

Tonight, however, when both Liono and Tygra were lying next to each other, the Lion was anything but drowsy, and turned on his side to face his love. Tygra turned as well to face him, and they just laid there for a few minutes while Tygra wondered if he should say anything.

"Tygra, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be bothering you," Liono spoke, his breath hitching as if he was about to cry.

"What makes you think you are bothering me Liono?" Tygra responded, trying his best not to frown.

"I haven't been doing anything a King should be doing, and shirking all of the responsibility onto you, it's not fair, and I regret doing it, could you…show me what to do so I can take over now; I cannot force myself to just walk around another day while I know you and everyone else are working their best to fix our home."

"Liono, please, you deserve this time off, you've spent the last ten months hunting down war stones and fighting off evil, it's time you got those ten months back, let the people fix their homes, let me do what I was taught, and if for me if for no other reason, let yourself relax and enjoy the feelings of being home."

Tygra knew that he sounded abrasive, he didn't like saying it like that, but there were times when Liono had to be commanded, and the Tiger felt like this was one of those times. He never liked using this tone, it made him sound aggressive and arrogant, but he hoped that Liono could look past that and accept the message for what it was worth.

"There must be something I can do, the thought of having ten months to supervise doesn't appeal to me."

"What do you want to do then," Tygra asked, seeing a little bit of color flood into those eyes he loved so much.

"I want to help the people, I want to help you."

"Maybe then, you could sit with me at the council meetings, although I daresay you might be even more bored in doing that."

"As long as you are there, I'm occupied." There was that smile, the first time the Tiger had seen it in days, and it warmed the chill he felt icing over his heart recently. He smiled himself and brought his nose close to nuzzle the smaller males nose, enjoying the purr he was getting in response. He brought his face closer still, and from nuzzling, he moved down to embrace his mate's lips with his own, circling a hand around the smooth back to pull it close.

Even though they cuddled like this every night, this one particular moment seemed to remind Tygra why he cared so much for the male who's taste was fresh on his tongue. He couldn't blame Liono for feeling useless, but as of right now, Thundaria needed someone to look up to, someone to unite the people. They didn't have to do anything except bring everyone together, and Liono is doing that already. If he were to be cooped up inside all day listening to the political rhetoric Tygra had been suffering through, then there was no one rallying the people together.

He resolved to table his thoughts for now, the more pressing matter being a cute and sleepy little Lion nuzzling into his chest. The Tiger couldn't help but widen his grin at the sight, feeling his pride inflate past normal standards. How had he been lucky enough to find someone like this? He didn't know, and right now he didn't care, all he wanted, was to hold his mate close, and call it a night.

A few hours passed of calm and peaceful sleep, the sheets becoming tangled and scattered as someone threw them off. The weather was still much too cold to be sleeping like this, and Tygra was finally roused from his slumber when enough of the chill from outside had slipped under the door to linger in their room.

At first he reached down to pull the covers back up, but Liono was laying on top of them and wouldn't budge. Tygra hesitantly poked him, trying to blink the clouds from his tired eyes. When Liono just groaned and rolled over, Tygra had to be more forceful. He slipped his arm under the male's unnaturally warm body and paused, He was burning up.

Tygra immediately had both hands on his mate, trying to shake him to wake up. When he saw Liono crack his eyes in confusion at him, Tygra asked him if he felt alright. When the Lion responded that he was really hot in here, and his stomach hurt a little, Tygra moved a hand down to rub over his mate's soft tummy.

Instead of finding the smooth body he was used to, there was a tell-tale bump now, although small. Tygra got up off the bed and walked around, lighting the candle and holding it close to the male on the bed. There really was a bump there, slight, yes, but still a bump...

* * *

><p>Liono noticed his rounded belly and tentatively put a hand to it, intrigued by the distended flesh. Tygra tossed him some pants and told him to try and get up, that they needed to see a Doctor immediately. Liono asked him if it could wait until morning, but his mate's stern gaze gave him a firm and resolute, "No." groaning once again, Liono slowly dragged himself to sit up, pulling the pants on to cover himself. There pain was growing now, starting at the base of his spine and then working around his back and over his stomach. It started to flare up, and Liono found himself crouched over on the bed, unable to stand.<p>

Tygra rushed over to check to make sure he was alright, but when Liono told him that he couldn't get up, the Tiger extinguished the candle and set it onto the table next to the bed. After that, he returned to his companion and slid his arms underneath to cradle his body, lifting him slowly as his mate groaned and hissed in pain.

Tygra was concerned and needed to get his mate to a doctor quickly, however he moved carefully so as to not make his Lion any more uncomfortable. There was no one up at this hour, the only thing moving being the breeze which ran over their skin as they moved along hallway after hallway. When Tygra finally reached the main hall, he was relieved to see two guards standing just inside the door, keeping watch.

He called to them and their heads jerked to look at him. When they saw Liono curled up in his arms they both rushed over and Tygra, not so calmly, told them that he needed a doctor immediately. One of them knew where they could find one and started to walk quickly down the hall and out the door, forking left and going only a short way until he stopped at one of the newly built residences and knocked loudly. Tygra had to jog to keep up with the other man, but caught up just as the door opened to reveal a middle-aged Cougar, looking quite enraged having been awoken at this hour.

Seeing the Prince in a fetal position, however, broke his anger and led him to bark at Tygra to bring him inside quickly. After the Lion was set down on a long table just inside the door, the man pulled a stethoscope from one of the cabinets built into the base and brought it to touch over the distended stomach. His eyes narrowed several times as he tried to determine just what was happening.

He asked Tygra what he had been doing, but the reply he received was that they had just been sleeping when Liono had started to heat up and say his stomach hurt. Tygra went on to say that when he noticed the distention that he immediately carried him to find help.

The Doctor seemed to consider these words and apply them to what he was thinking, walking around for several minutes, the pacing wearing on the tiger's nerves. Tygra had just started to open his mouth to growl for an answer, but the doctor moved away and to a bookcase standing on the edge of the room on the far wall, running his hands over the worn spines and finally plucking one of them and leafing through the pages until he found whatever he had been looking for.

Tygra quickly asked if he knew what was wrong, putting his hand in Liono's when the Lion groaned and started to rub at his belly. The doctor looked first at the Lion, then to the Tiger and held the book out for the larger male to take. When it was in Tygra's hands and facing the right way, he looked briefly over the section, his eyes catching the title which made his eyes widen.

Printed in large and fancy bold letters, was "Pregnancy Stage 1." Tygra processed what he was reading, the small paragraph which served as the introduction briefly mentioning what this stage was. It mentioned that the stomach started to distend as the kittens underwent stage one growth. In addition it advised certain methods of coping with the pain that ensued as the mother's body expanded to accommodate the beings inside. On the very bottom of the page, Tygra read the last sentence several times to make sure he had seen it right. It said that this phase lasted from anywhere between one to two weeks.

Tygra closed the book and looked back to Liono. He knew that his lover was pregnant, but he wondered why it had taken so long for his mate to start showing. He posed this question to the Cougar, who nodded in understanding and walked around to press a few fingers into the swelling flesh, stating that females already have the sexual organs to accommodate birthing their young. Males however, have to grow the organs over a few months so that when the kittens started to grow, they didn't obstruct the body. He went on to explain that while females may be the natural carriers of eggs, every male born in each new generation inherits blank eggs from the mother which are stored in a separate location just behind the testes. He said there were special pores in the anal tract which had the ability to absorb fluid and deposit it into the egg chamber, as he called it. In this way, should semen ever find its way into the egg chamber, that it was possible for the eggs to become fertilized and in turn grow into healthy kittens.

While he advised that not many males had ever actually decided to complete a full term pregnancy, it is possible. When the body detects that the eggs have become fertilized and have begun going through preliminary growth inside the egg chamber, the body releases dormant chemicals which alter the chamber behind the testes. What he meant by alter, he explained, was that the chemicals sparked cell growth of the sack and lifted it slowly up to hang just under the stomach with a canal forming between it and the anal tract. . This pseudo-uterus, would continue to grow as a result of the chemicals and cause the pregnancy to visibly show just like in females.

Tygra tried his best to keep up, but from everything he was just told, he realized that his mate must have already finished that process. When he asked for confirmation to what he was thinking, the doctor nodded and continued on to describe the rest of the pregnancy.

He said that after the pseudo-uterus was in place, instead of a placenta like in females, a cord with several valves will form between the stomach and the sack, regulating the food intake of the fetuses. Tygra stopped him to ask how that worked, and the doctor replied that the tube took in both stomach acid and partially digested food. It was held between two chambers so they food could completely digest, and chemicals were secreted by the walls of that chamber to neutralize the acid when the liquid was digested enough for the infants and determined safe by the body. Tygra asked how much food his Lion would have to eat to feed all the kittens he was carrying, and the doctor looked at him puzzled.

He asked If Tygra knew how many he had in there, and when Tygra told him about the six Cheetara saw, the Cougar cocked his eyebrow and asked how he could possibly know that. When clerics were mentioned, the doctor nodded his head and brought a hand up to his chin to stroke it. He had never heard of anyone having six kittens before, but nonetheless had a formula to determine how much one kitten would eat before it was full.

Tygra had trouble figuring out the doctors method, and had to ask him to write it down. The diagram the Cougar drew onto a sheet of parchment stated that each kitten could eat one-tenth its weight in Stage one pregnancy, and that each time the stomach passed food into the cord acting as a placenta, it was divided among how many umbilical cords existed at the end of it. Tygra couldn't do the math, not even knowing how to split grams into anything smaller. The doctor figured everything out for him, thankfully, and considering how much he guessed each of them weighed, he told Tygra that Liono would have to eat several pounds of food to not only feed his kittens, but to also feed himself. Tygra wasn't sure about the logic, but he had never had to take care of anyone who had been pregnant before, so he accepted what the doctor said and hope it was right.

The Cougar warned Tygra that Liono could not eat anything like he had been previously, and had to be given special food from now on. He jotted down several names of commonly used foods and handed it over for the Tiger to peruse. The list had fishes and vegetables and soft breads on it. Sweets were advised to be avoided and anything tough and chewy was discouraged as well. Tygra thanked the doctor for his help and asked if there was anything else he needed to know. When the Cougar shook his head and said that he knew everything he needed to in order to survive stage one, Tygra sighed in relief and made to pick Liono back up.

The doctor asked him to wait and said that they would need to go see a doctor once a week so Liono could be checked on and they could make sure the pregnancy was doing alright. Tygra asked him if they could come back when they needed to have a check-up done, and the Cougar pulled a schedule book from the desk beside the bookcase, flipping through the pages and running a finger down the scribbles. He told Tygra which time slots he had open for the next month, and the Tiger asked him to pencil them in, if he could. The Cougar nodded and reached for his pen to make the annotations, telling the male the times he would expect them and on which days before telling him he was all set.

Tygra hefted his mate up, who groaned again and cracked his eyes to stare, annoyed at his lover. On the way out the door, Tygra told the Cougar that they would pay him when they came next week. The male nodded and hoped they enjoyed their week, closing the door lightly after them, and most likely heading off to sleep for whatever little bit of time he had left before his day was supposed to begin.

They had been occupied at the residence for much longer than Tygra thought, noting the sun peeking over the horizon as he walked back down the street. He saw several people through the windows of their homes starting to wake up, and a few of them joining him to walk in the street as they went off to early morning jobs. Everyone he passed was looking at both himself and the bundle in his arms, some of them surprised and others cracking slight smiles.

Tygra wasn't sure he could mark off the looks at compliments or not, remembering that neither of them were wearing a shirt or shoes as the moved through the street. He was relieved to be back inside the palace, and nodded to the guards who met him this morning. They returned the gesture and perked up a little, one of them looking nervous as he watched the pair pass through the door.

Tygra noticed the expression and asked him if he was alright, and the guard nodded and said he was fine, but asked if the Prince was fine himself. Tygra realized that he was trying to ask about the Lion's belly, and said that he was just trying to handle the first part of his pregnancy. The guard's eyes widened as Tygra caught on to him and he tried his best to calm himself down visibly. He cracked a smile and said he was happy for them, wishing them luck and straightening himself. Tygra thanked him and walked back through the large room and into the hall which ran through the far wall and led to their room.

The Tiger would have felt better if the guard had simply asked instead of being so nervous. He sighed and remembered that you couldn't just ask someone a question like "Are you pregnant?" He tossed the thought aside as he finally reached the large wooden door and pushed it open, carrying his love back to the bed and lying him down on it, pulling both of their pants off and joining the other body on the soft sheets.

"I was awake the whole time you know…" Liono said, making the Tiger raise his mouth into a grin.

"I know, but since I am going to be the one taking care of you, I figured I would be the one doing the talking."

"What makes you think I need to be taken care of?"

"What makes you think a pregnant male can take care of himself when he can't even stand up?"

Liono had to admit he had gotten him there, but was still peeved about Tygra's 'dominance complex,' it made him feel like he was a kitten again. The pain in his stomach had subsided since they had returned, and he tried to relax as his love brought a hand up to scritch at the bubble on his tummy. The hand felt good and he couldn't help the purr in his throat at the touch.

Tygra chuckled at him and asked him if that felt nice, already knowing the answer. Liono had turned to look at him now, those glistening turquoise eyes like an ocean shimmering in the afternoon sun.

"I hope they have your eyes," Tygra cooed, leaning down to kiss his mate tenderly. Liono kissed back, the gesture of affection well received.

"I hope they have your smile," the Lion replied, bringing one of his own to occupy his face as his Tiger moved his head to lay it on the smooth chest.

"I love you so much Liono, you have absolutely no idea," Tygra whispered. A gentle hand on his back told him that the Lion did too know just how much he was loved, but that love was twofold. They fell asleep like that, Tygra resting on Liono's chest, his arm laying protectively over both his mate and their kittens.

It had been several days since that night, and in that time, Tygra had relegated that his mate try and exert himself as less as possible. Liono, of course, disagreed and tried to do little things here or there, but if Tygra ever caught him, there would always be hell to pay. Most of the time Liono was just shooed away and told to go rest; other times, Tygra would forcibly pick him up and take him with him as he busied himself with work to do around the palace.

It was considerably warmer now, with the palace reconstruction nearly complete, the wind could no longer blow freely down the hallways like it had in the first months of the Thundercats homecoming. That being said, new residents were returning every day, and as a result, construction on not only the palace, but also the city, began to speed up. The first of the seven tiers of the city had been completed, and the palace was going to be completed when the second tier was a third of the way done.

The rapidity of the restorations surprised mostly everyone; their determination to have their city back burning bright in every soul that lived and breathed inside and out of the palace walls. Life was beginning to take on the familiar feel of how it had been before the destruction all that time ago. Well, life had started to resume where it left off, for everyone except Liono and Tygra.

When their journey began, they were beset by hostile differences and unrequited love. Now, they have embraced each others hearts, and guard them affectionately. They had kittens on the way, and the previous Prince, was to be the King of all his Father before him had built. Life might be the same anymore, but it definitely felt better, to both of them.

Liono found himself in bed today, Tygra had taken the day off and shoveled his work onto the many staff he led. The Tiger had made a point to keep Liono occupied today, staying at his side the whole time. Liono didn't care much for the over immersion of attention, and tried to get Tygra to let them go for a walk or something.

"Still as energetic as ever huh, even when you're carrying…" Tygra sighed, patting his lover's stomach and, defeated, finally helped his mate up and led him through the palace to the front door. Normally, Liono wouldn't want to leave the palace nowadays, his stomach slowly getting larger as their kittens completed stage one.

The Tailor, who's shop was moved to the first tier of the city for convenience, had luckily been able to supply the Lion with a set of more… covering clothes that could accommodate his belly. Without having to worry about feeling exposed with the silken purple shirt hanging down to his waist, the Lion breathed in deep the afternoon air and asked Tygra where they were going, his mate not stopping as he led them down the steps and through the streets.

"I thought you might like to see the park," was the only reply the Lion received as he was dragged down several more streets until they stepped within view of the massive space covered in deep green grass and playing children. There was a statue here now as well, and Liono had to squint to make sure he was seeing it right.

There, in the middle of the expanse, was a towering marble structure which resembled him and Tygra, the latter having his arms wrapped around the former's waist affectionately with his head rested In the crook of the smaller statue's neck. It was a position they found themselves in often, and Lion blushed deeply when he realized that there was now an incarnation of one of their most private moments sitting in plain view for everyone to see.

"Tygra what is that?" Liono yelled as quietly as he could, his embarrassment painfully evident. Tygra smirked when he saw his mate to hot and bothered, stealing a kiss from his lips to try and calm him. It helped a little, but it would take more than that to make the Lion comfortable with this.

"I had it commissioned for the park, since we are going to be the ruling couple, I thought I'd announce it to all of Thundaria." His excitement bothered Liono, and he found himself staring at the statue now, eye twitching as he noticed how detailed it was.

By detailed, of course, he could only gape at how accurate the muscles were, how on point the facial expressions appeared, and how lifelike the entire peace looked. The more he looked at it, he started to think about how artistic it was, instead of how much it made him blush. And he was still blushing, especially when he looked around and saw the looks people were giving him.

Most of the women had their hands over their mouths, their smiles creeping around the fingers while the males simply looked approving. Tygra pulled him along and as they passed a few people, Liono could hear their excited chatter behind his back. Most of them talked about how handsome the new King was, while some remarked that they made a perfect couple. Liono already knew the last was true, he found the perfect person for him, but sometimes, his mate seemed to get too excited over him.

"I hope you liked it," Tygra said, breaking his mate's thoughtful trance. Liono hastened a smile and said it was very lifelike, to which the Tiger only frowned.

"So you don't like it?" Tygra sighed, slowing his pace to creep along the cobbles of the path.

"Oh, I do, it's wonderful, I just wish you would have told me about it first."

"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise."

"Trust me, it would have been."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that anything you do would excite me, so there's no need for surprises," With that last, the Lion leaned over to peck a kiss on his mate's cheek, receiving both a wide grin and a loving squeeze on his hand.

The rest of their walk through the park went by with them talking to each other about the city and their kittens and how life would go with six little ones scampering about. Neither could believe that they were actually at this moment, they were on the precipice of parenthood, they had each other, and everything was right with the world.

They were lost in the euphoria of each other, when a very bubbly old tabby cat came up to them and broke into their conversation. She was quite inquisitive about their relationship, and said she was excited that everything was working out for them. Tygra and Liono were amused by her curiosity, but her last question, caught them both by surprise. She asked them when their wedding was.

"Wedding," Tygra repeated, his eyes widening. Liono did the same, and they looked at each other for a few moments while the old woman commented on how it was obvious they were mated, but without the marriage, it wasn't official.

She left them to their thoughts when she realized they were too caught up in her question to actually say anything else. Her giggling could be heard as Liono and Tygra came back to reality, their attention caught by Cheetara, who must have been standing there for a few minutes, given the impatient expression on her face.

"So you too are having a wedding without consulting me?" she asked with fire on her lips. Both males tried to explain that they hadn't even thought about a wedding until that woman mentioned it, and that seemed to perk the cheetah up.

"Wonderful, I'll have everything taken care of, you two will have the best wedding in all of Thundaria!" she yelled for everyone to hear, her smile wide and insane. The Lion and Tiger tried to ask her to be quiet, and Liono said he didn't want anything over the top, while Tygra nudged him on the shoulder and said he wanted one where everyone could be invited.

"Why does everyone have to be there?" Liono asked, feeling his social awkwardness poking him. He hated large groups of people, and he could only handle them when all he had to do was chop through them with a sword.

"Because you are going to be the King of Thundaria, there hasn't been a royal wedding in ages and especially not around the same time as a coronation, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I want to make sure everyone in Thundaria can say they witnessed it."

"How are we going to fit everyone in Thundaria into our wedding?"

"I can help with that," Cheetara piped in, a sly grin on her face as she watched the two of them turn to her. "you remember how the room in the Elder Cleric's tower defied space and time? Well I believe he might know how to make larger ones, and if so, we can just attach it to the palace and our space problems would be solved!" She seemed excited at her thought, cutting them off before either could stutter a word and excusing herself, muttering something about the Cleric she needed to find.

"She seems too excited about this," Liono said, turning back to meet his mate's similar expression. Tygra just nodded and they finished their walk, hearing more giggles and mutterings from the people they passed. Liono was almost glad to be back inside the palace when they returned, feeling exhausted from the little exercise they had done. He had gotten more exercise than he thought actually, between their stroll in the park and the wedding that was sprung on them.

"Tygra, what are we going to do about this?" The Lion asked, walking next to his mate as they went into the kitchen to find some water.

"I guess we don't have to do anything, Cheetara said she'd handle it, and I believe we can trust her to do a good job."

"But this is all so sudden, we are in the middle of restorations, we're trying to make the supplies we have accumulated last while we wait for the southern and eastern farmlands to produce, and not to mention I am supposed to be coronate in two months. Trying to keep Thundaria stable while we raise it from the ground is tiring, there is no time for a wedding!" Liono was getting hot again, his face blossoming in all manner of pinks and light reds as he tried to weasel his way out of a public event like this.

"Sounding more like a King every day," Tygra whispered, stopping them before the kitchen doors and wrapping his arms around the smaller body, holding him close while he affectionately nipped at his lover's ears, making him gasp and whimper cutely. A clatter followed by a shattering sound broke their embrace as they saw a servant girl holding her hand up to her nose as she stared at them, the telltale lines of red seeping from in between her fingers. She hastily apologized for interrupting them and went to get a broom to clean the mess. Tygra smirked at her and drug his mate along, opening the wooden doors behind them and stalking to a basin on the far end, filling two cups and downing one while Liono sipped at the other.

"We don't have time right now for a wedding Tygra," Liono tried to continue, hoping his mate would spare him from this, not wanting to make a debacle of himself in front of his entire kingdom.

"You're just shy Liono, there is nothing to worry about," The Tiger responded, brushing off the concerned look Liono was giving him. Liono knew it wouldn't be easy to get his mate to change his mind once it was made up, and sighed, he wouldn't be able to get out of this now. He just hoped when the time came for it, that Cheetara hadn't planned anything over the top.

"you know Liono," The Tiger started, setting his empty cup down and looking over at his smaller companion, "You're check-up is tomorrow." The Lion had forgotten all about his appointments every week for the next few months, too preoccupied with being bored around here.

"I hope they don't have to do anything invasive…" Liono said, more to himself than to Tygra.

"They probably will, unless the doctor is a cleric, which I doubt, he's going to have to check inside you somehow."

"You don't think he'd have to… You know… stick anything in me right?"

"I'm not sure, it sounds like he would have to though."

The Tiger wasn't helping, and Liono started to feel reluctance to go back to the doctor. He didn't want to have anything stuck inside him at all, well unless it was his mate but that a different story. Nonetheless, for the rest of the day, Tygra and Liono tried to find something to do until dinner, all the while Liono's head kept being flooded with images of himself being strapped onto a table with the doctor holding a large syringe over his ass. He tried shaking his head to scatter the thoughts, but that only served to make him dizzy.

Tygra chuckled at his mate's paranoia, already knowing what was on his mind. He would try and milk this lie for as long as he could. He felt bad for telling his mate the doctor would have to go inside him, but his mate was too cute when he was worked up; Tygra couldn't let this opportunity pass him by.

It wasn't until a guard called that dinner would be ready in ten minutes that Liono temporarily forgot his fears, his grumbling stomach stealing his attention. "Hey, if I can wait then you six can too," Liono called to the kittens inside his stomach, giggling slightly. His tummy groaned in response as the couple made their way through the several hallways before the dining hall.

Panthro, Cheetara, and the two Kittens were already there, having been invited to stay in the palace with the Prince and his mate. This one time though, instead of not minding their presence, Liono was a little nervous about having the cheetah here after her ranting in the park.

He had every right to feel that way, She had grabbed his attention as he sat down and pulled several notebooks and catalogs from underneath her chair. Liono didn't have time to ask where she had found those kinds of items when the printing shop wouldn't be open for another few weeks. She was asking him what colors he liked out of twenty and if he preferred linen or silk and then went on to ask what kind of ceremony he wanted.

"There's more than one kind of ceremony?" The Lion asked, thrumming his hand on the table impatiently.

"Well of course there is silly, but I figured you might not know that so I went ahead and picked a few I liked," She shuffled a few papers across to him and watched intently as he read each little description under the illustration of the ceremony's procedure. The last one he read though, made his eyes widen.

"That one is the one I hoped you two would choose," she snickered, knowing perfectly well that Liono was looking at a special version of a ring ceremony especially for Males. Liono shot his blushing face up to give her a look half between surprise and disbelief.

"Absolutely not!" Liono said a little louder than he meant. If she thought he was going to exchange those kinds of rings with his mate in public then she was out of his mind. Tygra got up to stand behind him and read over this page, chuckling as soon as he saw the illustration.

"You don't want to exchange cock rings with me Liono?" Tygra cooed in his ear, making Panthro spit his drink across the table and the kittens to burst out into fits of wild laughter. Liono told him to be quiet and slid the sheaf of pages back to the cheetah, who set her hand on them absentmindedly and continued to watch the couple.

"Well maybe you two can do that on your honeymoon then," she winked, making both of them look up to her.

"We don't have time for a honeymoon, what is Thundaria going to do without someone to watch over it?" Liono shouted. It seemed like everyone wanted him to relax, or take it easy, or go on a vacation. He couldn't do any of those, he had to be King now and so far everyone else has been doing more work than him.

"Am I not fit to be king, do you really not want me as king? Because if not then I wish you would tell me instead of trying to get me out of the palace!" Liono scooted his chair back and got up, stalking out of the room and down the hallway to him and his mate's room.

Tygra sighed and apologized to the rest of the cats, explaining Liono's frustration about not being allowed to help as much as he wants. The servants were standing at the door to the kitchen, their cart full or trays and plates halted as they watched the group with wide eyes. Tygra could only guess how long they had been there, but assumed they saw everything.

He asked if they could bring their food to their room tonight, and when he received a nod from one of the older cats, he himself exited the room and went to join his love. As he wound his way through the palace to the back, he could hear little sniffles sneaking out of the crack in their door. Tygra jogged the distance to the room and poked his head inside worriedly. Liono was curled up on the bed, his face covered by his palms, thin streams of tears running between the fingers.

"Liono?" Tygra called, to which the other male shot his head up and asked him to leave.

"Liono, my love, please, what's wrong?" Tygra called, walking over to the male and sitting down beside him on the bed, throwing an arm comfortingly over the smaller body. Liono just slumped and fell into Tygra's chest, tears pouring twice as hard.

"Liono, what happened?" Tygra started to get worried, he had never seen his mate like this.

"Tygra, I am supposed to be the king, but I don't feel like I am, after everything with the citizens the other day, and now with Cheetara trying to get us out of the palace, I'm not so sure anyone WANTS me to be king."

How long had Liono had these doubts, Tygra thought about them as he tried to find something, anything to say. And to think, the Tiger thought that his Lion had no fears about being king, that he wasn't nervous. That was foolish to think, anyone would second-guess themselves if they were suddenly pushed into this power. Liono was supposed to have years of study and experience under his belt, but his father was assassinated and there was no other choice than to install him immediately. Be it seemed immediately wasn't soon enough. There were political and legal matters to handle, along with everything else going on, the coronation ceremony had to be pushed…back. That was it!

"Liono, it's completely normal for you to feel this way." Tygra had an idea, he hoped it would work.

"It… -sniffle-… is?"

"Of course, your coronation is still a few weeks away, so you technically aren't the king yet."

"Well when you say it like that…"

"Liono, my mate, please don't let this worry you so much, you have plenty of time to prepare yourself for what lies ahead, and I am here with you, and soon, so will six little ones."

"But Tygra…"

"No buts, everything will work out. Don't tell me that you can vanquish the paragon of evil, but you can't even sit on a throne." Liono hated to be teased, and Tygra hoped it would divert his mate's nervousness onto safer emotions. He was second guessing which emotions he considered "safe" when Liono started to narrow his eyes.

"Who says all I have to do is sit on a throne all day? I have to do paperwork and listen to petitions and handle court matters and attend politically important events and establish foreign allies and mountains of other things that I have no idea how to handle!"

" It was just a metaphor my love, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tease you," Tygra said, holding his hands up to try and shield himself from his mate whose face was edging closer and closer to his.

"Damn right! You know I don't like it when you tease me!" Thankfully, that was everything he said. With the silence that ensued, all Liono and Tygra did was look at each other until Tygra couldn't resist slowly cracking his mouth into a smile. He hoped Liono wouldn't yell again, but when he saw his mate's do the same, he sighed inside, and snickered a little.

"You're so cute when you're upset," Tygra cooed, reaching his hand out for his mate to take. Liono blushed at the compliment and slowly edged his hand out, and when Tygra saw it, he snatched it and pulled his mate on top of him, craning his head up to make their mouths meet. Liono was burning up again, and could feel his mate's tummy gurgling against his.

"Liono, you really need to eat something now, I think you've waited long enough…" Tygra panted when they finally broke. Coincidentally, there came a knock at the door, to which Tygra rolled his mate off of him gently and got up to answer it.

On the other side of the door had been the servant girl from earlier, a small tray sitting on top of the cart she pushed and three smaller ones sitting on the shelf underneath. She was holding a cloth to her nose and Tygra could swear he saw a few smudges of red on it. He could only guess what had made her like that, and smirked slightly as she pushed the cart one-handed into the room, curtsied, and excused herself, rushing out as fast as she could.

"Tygra was she alright?" Lion asked, a concerned look on his face as he stared at the door.

"Yes, I'm sure she was fine, most likely saw something that got her all flustered." Tygra looked to the door too, reminding himself to lock it next time they decided to become intimate. He shook his head with a smile and walked over to the cart, wrapping a hand around the cover of the large tray on top and curiously pulled it off, filling the room instantly with the smells of exquisite food.

There was an enormous fish taking up the platter, the head and tail cut off and sitting on the side as garnishments which the middle had been sliced thin and marinated, but not cooked, leaving it a delicious color and seething a very appetizing smell. He recognized it immediately as a dish used to celebrate special events in the palace, like birthdays or Scritches day. He paused only for a second to wonder what the occasion was, remembering he had a hungry mate sitting on the bed waiting.

He pushed the cart over to sit in front of him, the Lion's mouth visibly watering as he eyed the fish that taunted him. He couldn't eat it yet though, they hadn't had the appetizer. Judging by the look Liono had, he was appetizer enough, but still picked out the tray with the large A etched into the cover and picked it up, wondering what could fit on such a tiny plate.

He soon found out, eyeing the two balls of rice with a piece of fish on top wrapped together with a grape leaf. He held the tray out to his love, who plucked up one of them quickly and popped it whole into his mouth, eyes closing and mouth upturning into an expression of bliss. Tygra felt the same way when he put the tiny food into his own mouth, relishing in the flavors of the yellow-tail mixed with the crunchiness of the leaf and the soft sticky texture of the rice.

Liono was waiting for him as he put the tray back down underneath and grabbed the forks, walking around the cart to sit next to his mate on the bed and hand over one of the utensils. The Lion wasted no time in digging in to the meal, skewering four or five pieces of fish at once and shoveling them into his mouth. Tygra wasn't sure this would be enough to fill him and the kittens up, hoping the chefs had read the list from the doctor right.

Tygra didn't think that this was for the both of them, and bent his head to look under the cart again. He saw the appetizer tray, and the desert tray with the large D on it, and another one without a letter. He grabbed that last one and held it in front of him, cracking the lid to sniff at the food inside, it was more fish. He took the cover off and saw a smaller portion of the marinated meat, along with a small pilaf of rice under it.

He smirked, this must be his dinner. He gave his mate another look, eyes widening as he saw that the whole fish was almost gone with the ravenous male doing everything to get it down except inhaling it. He decided to eat his meal and watch his mate at the same time. He laughed as he watched the other male, wondering if carrying six kittens really made him that hungry.

Before he knew it, he had finished his own plate, setting it back underneath and waiting for his love to finish, who had slowed partially as the last few bits of meat were stabbed with his fork and deposited into the thankful mouth.

When the fork clattered onto the plate, Tygra replaced the lid and reached under to pick the desert up. It looked like some kind of rice with a sauce on top of it and some mirrorberries tastefully decorating it. Tygra sniffed at it, and it did smell sweet. He put a small bit onto his fork and hesitantly put it into his mouth, stunned at the wonderful sensations playing on his tongue. He put some more on his fork and held it up for Liono to take, who did so enthusiastically and smiled around the food.

"What is that?" He asked his mate, looking at the Tiger curiously, but expectantly.

"I have no idea, it's good though."

"It delicious!" Liono looked like he was about to whine every time Tygra took a bite, finally making the other male hand the plate over with half of it left to the Lion's excitement. Liono thanked him quickly and devoured the desert, making Tygra both laugh in amusement, but frown inside at not being able to get any more.

"Thank you love, that was so good," Liono sighed as he put the plate down, leaning over after to kiss his mate on the cheek.

"I think that desert was worth a little more than a peck my little Lion," Tygra chuckled playfully, winking devilishly.

"You know we can't do that while I'm pregnant Tygra," Liono replied, returning the wink.

"That's not quite what I meant, I was hoping for a little more cuddling."

"As long as your gentle," Liono said quickly, and Tygra nodded, reaching over and pulling his mate into his lap tenderly, licking at the shell of his ear and making him purr deep in his throat. Gods, he loved that purr, it turned him on so much, but he really couldn't have sex with his mate now, not when he was like this. He would have to get himself off later, his mate was worth getting worked up like this, even if he couldn't do anything but touch him.

-Knock Knock Knock- Liono groaned and Tygra growled lightly as he set his mate down on the bed and stalked to the door, throwing it open frustratedly and looking at the elderly man outside the door with a look of pure annoyance. The man said that he and the Prince's bath was ready, reminding him that it was that time of the day. Tygra covered his face with his hand and called over to Liono, telling him they needed to bathe.

Liono had never liked baths, but the ones he took with his mate were much more enjoyable. Tygra held his hand gently as they walked down the hall to two slightly cracked doors, already smelling the bath salt before the doors were even in front of them.

There was no one else in here of course, and locking the door behind them, Tygra assured that no one would interrupt them again. With that done, he stripped his clothes off and helped his mate strip off the ones he wore. They had this large bathing pool to themselves thankfully, one of the perks of being royalty. They both stepped away from the clothes on the floor and dipped their feet in the steaming water, the heat feeling nice as they submerged in it up to their necks, sitting alongside the edge.

Once the water had soaked in enough, Liono got up to go grab the soap from the other side of the pool, a good two minute swim. What Tygra did in this time was a little secret, not being able to mate with, well, his mate, left him sexually frustrated sometimes, so he released his tension while his love was across the pool. He had a good five minutes for him to find what he was looking for over there, so he quickly got himself worked up, and in no time had begun pumping his shaft quickly so as to finish in time. Just as he heard the familiar splashes of his mate swimming back, he growled deep in his throat and released his seed into the depths of the pool, lying back to embrace the slight afterglow.

"I didn't know this was a milk bath," He heard Liono say, and Tygra quickly shot his eyes to the water and hoped he couldn't see his cum through the steamy surface. No he couldn't, but there was something else floating on it, it definitely looked like milk. Liono dipped his hand in it and brought it up to his nose. Tygra did the same, and surprisingly it did smell like milk, but also like him. Before he could figure this out, Liono had licked at the white on his hand, scrunching his face up thoughtfully as if he had tasted it before.

"It doesn't quite taste like milk, it tastes more like…" Liono's eyes got wide and he leaned over to his mate, sniffing at his neck, and then running his tongue gently over the flesh. Tygra purred at the lick, shivering a little.

"It tastes like...you…" Liono said finally, narrowing his eyes, clearly knowing what Tygra had been doing.

"D-does it?" Tygra stuttered, trying to find something to say.

"Why does it look like that, all milky and funny tasting?"

"I-, what do you mean Liono?"

"You know exactly what I mean, why does your cum look and slightly taste milky?" Now that Tygra looked at it, it did look very much exactly like milk.

"I-I have no idea, it's never been like this before…"

"Oh, so you've done this before?" Liono asked, crossing his arms. Tygra cursed himself for falling into the trap, but sighed and said that he had done this before, but made the argument that he was a guy and guys did this a lot.

"So you do this a lot do you?" Liono sneered, edging closer to his mate, setting the bottle in his hand, which Tygra just noticed, onto the ledge of the pool and bringing himself into his mate's lap, nuzzling into the chest as he started to grind his ass against the flaccid meat under it.

Tygra grit his teeth as he felt himself start to get hard again. He had wanted to do this for so long, but they certainly couldn't do it right now. Liono's intentions became clear, and when it seemed that he was just teasing, he reached a hand in the water and grabbed the thick shaft, giving it a few lustful squeezes, making Tygra moan loudly.

"Jeez Liono, it's been so long since we've done anything,"

"Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean we can't do anything…" Liono smiled sexily, and Tygra felt something hard pressing at the underside of his erection. When Liono's hand wrapped around his meat again, he could only guess that his mate was going to get both of them off like this.

Even though he had already came, Tygra could feel himself closing in on another orgasm, the feelings of his mate's hand and cock against his own were things he only dreamed about nowadays. It didn't help that Liono was moaning too, those soft gasps accompanied by his continued grinding threatened to make the Tiger pass out from too much pleasure all at once.

Liono shot first, his milky seed shooting into the water and floating on the surface. Tygra could smell the musk of it, his mate's scent strong and lustful. He must not have gotten off in awhile, the sheer potency of the smell made Tygra's head swirl as he inhaled it like an addict. It had been too long, for both of them. This little moment was all they needed to destress after they emotional strain that today had put on them both.

Liono had slid his cock out from against Tygra's, and instead started to take a deep breath. Before the Tiger could clear enough of the haze around his head from the drug-like smells, he felt a warm and wet pressure grasp his shaft and give a long powerful suck. Tygra growled a moan, and released himself into the mouth around him. This orgasm felt ten times better than his first, and it also felt like he shot ten times as much. When he finally felt himself start to soften up, the Lion slid his mouth off and popped his head up above the water, taking a deep breath and panting for a moment, looking straight into his mate's eyes. Tygra saw that his mouth was empty, and raised an eyebrow.

"What did you do with it?" He asked the smaller male.

"What do you think my big tasty man?" Liono licked his lips as a clue, and Tygra snickered.

"you don't think that would hurt the kittens do you?" Liono's eyes widened at the Tiger's words.

"Crap! I completely forgot, but it tasted more like milk this time, so I just, I just had an instinct to swallow." The smaller male was running his hands through his hair anxiously, hoping he didn't just jeopardize their children's health.

Tygra was worried too, but they were going to the doctor tomorrow, and hopefully the cougar would tell them everything was alright. Tygra felt like he knew everything was fine, but he had never done this before, and needed to be sure. Needless to say, they finished their bath quickly and dried each other off. Tygra took his time running the plush towel over his mates body, taking the most time massaging the slightly larger belly.

"That feels nice Tygra," Liono cooed, leaning back into his mate's chest as he was rubbed dry, sitting between the larger male's legs. Surprisingly, the Lion hadn't felt any of the unease he normally felt this time of day, and didn't linger on wondering why, he just accepted the comfortable feelings he had and let his mate get him ready for bed.

Tygra liked to do little things like this, like dry his mate off and carry him to bed. It was that sort of romanticism that Liono loved about him, the tender touches against his flesh; the soft breaths on the nape of his neck. Everything he did served to excite the larger male; he had no idea what he did to deserve this, but was thankful that this was his life now.

When Liono was safely tucked under the sheets, Tygra himself slid under them and turned on his side to watch his mate drift off into sleep. He did this often now, watching his mate relax into the bed. Being pregnant must be exhausting him; Tygra wouldn't know that feeling, but would help Liono get through it as much as he could. He looked calm tonight, usually he would be restless for a little while before finally getting to sleep. Tygra curved his mouth up into a smile, pecking a kiss onto his mate's cheek, making the smaller male smile too. He laid down now, seeing his mate so peaceful, he might as well try to get some sleep, tomorrow had the possibility of being one of the longest days they would ever have.


	8. Who'd have Thought

**Hey everyone, sorry i've been gone for so long, but there's been more going on than I could manage and as a result my writing was hindered for a few months. Good news though, I managed to put aside time to finish this chapter and have it out for yall on 12/12/12! I know this is a small chapter too, but i'm just teasing yall, building suspense for a better set of chapters to come ^.- just thought I'd tide you all over until then.  
>Regarding that, look forward to more chapters this month, I want to mark the occasion of being on Fanfiction for a whole year with something big, so look forward to my coverage of perhaps the greatest event in Thundaria in centuries! Read on and find out just what that event is!<br>**

**Happy reading 3  
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><p>Morning came far faster than either cat anticipated; little bolts of light shooting in and out of the room as the curtain billowed softly from the breeze sneaking in through the open window. As the birds chirped on the windowsill, one of the lumps on the bed in the middle of the floor stirred, and sat upright, letting the satin sheets fall down his body, as if reluctantly. His striped body stretched gracefully as he tossed both legs over the side of the mattress and stood himself up, walking over to the window to draw the curtain nonchalantly and peer out over the city illuminated by the splendor of the sunrise.<p>

However, as quickly as he had gotten to the window, he moved away, his eyes transfixed on the second lump that bulged the sheets. A smile cracked onto his face as his mind pondered all the creative ways he could go about his first order of business today. As he decided on what he was going to do, he crouched down low and then got onto his hands, crawling over to the bed sneakily, never letting his gaze leave his prey. Nearer and nearer he crept, hardly able to restrain himself long enough to do what he intended. When he was finally upon the edge of the bed, he carefully put a hand on the mattress followed by the other, and eased himself up, as quietly as he could. Giving himself a moment of observation, he took a deep breath, and ripped the sheets back, met with a wide-eyed and slightly peeved lion. That wasn't all he planned though, for as soon as the figure below him threw his hands up to grab at the sheets being held above him, the striped body threw himself down and brought his lips into contact with the other male. The arms that had been thrown up came down to rest upon the larger males back as they kissed, the soft purrs of one echoed by the other.

"Well good morning to you too." Liono whispered as Tygra finally lifted himself up off of him.

"It's time to wake up, we have an appointment this morning."

"Beh, I don't want to go, can't we skip this one?"

"No, we can't, you want healthy kittens don't you?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then get up."

Sighing, Liono slowly dragged himself off the comfortably warm sheets, holding his bump with an arm as he wiped the sleep from his eyes with the other. He walked himself over to the dresser as his mate rummaged around inside, frowning at the lack of appropriate clothing for his mate.

"Tygra what are you looking for?"

"Something loose for you, I'm afraid your clothes aren't going to work."

"They worked yesterday."

"Well yesterday isn't today."

"Sigh, it's not like we have much choice Tygra."

"…"

"Tygra?"

"…"

Concerned at the Tiger's sudden quietness, Liono started poking his mate until he finally pulled his arms from the drawer he was in and moved over to the closet, tossing the door open and shuffling through the hanging clothes as if he knew what he was looking for. Interested, Liono moved closer, until he stood behind his mate, but still away enough to allow himself to indulge in the sight of Tygra's firmly toned ass. They hadn't had sex for awhile now and Liono felt like this was the most intimate thing he could do besides oral. The more he thought over their sex, or lack thereof, he felt himself getting warmer, but not the pleasant warmth of arousal, it felt more like a burning sensation that he wasn't accustomed to. He had started to worry until Tygra turned around, breaking his trance. Caught in the aftershock of surprise, Liono wasn't paying attention to the first words his mate spoke, but did notice that his sudden warmth disappeared. Confused, Liono put a hand to his head as he asked Tygra to repeat what he was saying.

"Are you alright, Liono, you look flushed, maybe you need to sit down."

"I'm…I'm feeling fine now, I just had some kind of hot flash; it's passed." Taking Tygra's outstretched arm, Liono let the male lead him to the bed, where he sat down, and started to regain his head.

"What happened?"

"I was just standing there and all of a sudden I started to get hot and dizzy."

"hmm." Tygra stood looking at his mate for a few seconds. As Liono started to regain his composure he came to realize he was at eye level with Tygra's cock, and felt himself succumbing to the heat again. This didn't go unnoticed by the Tiger, and moving a hand in front of his package, he saw Liono shiver slightly and move his head to look up at his mate.

"Are you sure you just got spontaneously dizzy?"

"I might have been looking at your ass…"

"So looking at my ass or cock makes you feel sick?"

"Not sick, just hot and unsteady."

"hmm, interesting."

Wanting to change the conversation lest he feel even more uncomfortable, Liono asked Tygra what he had been holding, and as understanding flashed across his face, the other male held up the shirt for Liono to see. It was definitely large; it was one of Tygra's. Looking confused, the Lion cocked an eyebrow at his mate as if asking him if he really expected him to wear that. The sly smile that creeped onto Tygra's face answered Liono's question, and before any words could be uttered, Tygra had already started pulling it over his mate's head, easily shooing away the resistance he was met with. When all was said and done Tygra stepped back, admiring how cute Liono looked in his shirt. The long sleeves hung baggily off his arms and covered half of each hand, and pooled a little on his legs and around back.

Tygra was reluctant to have to put anything else on Liono, he thought he looked good enough as he was, but the little nagging voice in his mind told him that a cat couldn't walk around town half naked. Well, not that Liono would even do that for him. Sighing, the striped male went back to the dresser and pulled out underwear and pants for his mate, tossing them across the room as he started looking for clothes himself. They had finished dressing relatively quickly, although Liono had to avoid looking at Tygra until he had pants on; he had learned by now.

Tygra looked out the window one last time before helping Liono off the bed and holding his hand as they walked through the halls of the palace. Guards were seen every so often standing at attention, but nodded reverently as the couple passed them.

"It still feels odd."

"This shouldn't be anything you aren't used to already."

"I know, but there's a difference when you're the King."

"Everything will be fine my love." The sudden grip of Tygra's hand in his own made Liono feel a little more at ease. He couldn't fight a growing tension building inside him the moment he left the room. He thought he was just nervous about seeing the doctor again, but by the time they had reached the large doors leading to the city, he was having second thoughts on that.

He couldn't shake a chill coming upon him, the people who lined the streets all turned their heads to acknowledge them, but the moment they passed, they turned back to each other, a few even turning their eyes to watch Liono and Tygra as they walked.

"Hey Tygra?" Liono whispered as he leaned his head close to his mates.

Turning his head to look at him, Tygra gave him a 'what's wrong?' kind of look.

"Does something seem off this morning?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look at everyone, they look like they know something we don't."

"What makes you think that?"

"I have a feeling Tygra, a bad feeling that something is going to happen."

"You worry too much, everyone loves their King, even if they were all in on something, I doubt it would be something horrible."

"You act like you know what's going on too."

"Nah, I just don't notice anything."

"You're lying."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because you're smiling Tygra, you aren't taking me seriously." Stopping in his tracks, Liono stomped his foot to reiterate his frustration. He was determined to believe that there was something going on around here and he didn't like it that he seemed to be the only one who wasn't in on it. To make matters worse, even his mate was acting weird; it set Liono on edge, made him nervous.

"Liono please, you're making a scene, can we talk later?"

"Oh, so there's something to talk about now, why can't we talk here?"

"Because you're shouting in the middle of the street and we have an appointment to make."

Giving his surroundings a look, the Lion noticed that people were in fact staring at the couple oddly. Blushing his embarrassment, Liono started walking again, making a beeline for the familiar building at the end of the street. Once inside, he waited for his mate to follow, sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. Tygra felt bad that he couldn't tell him what was going on, but there was no way he would agree to do this unless it was already too late for him to stop it.

So he just waited, standing beside his mate until the familiar cat in his white coat came from the back, smiling at the pair and ushering them back. Once inside the room, he asked Liono to strip and lay on the table while he prepared himself. Gulping, Liono started to slowly pull his shirt off, followed by his pants, and ultimately, his underwear. In his pride he laid down on the table, nervous about being here with someone else, even if it was his mate. A hand on his shoulder made him turn his head up to look into those familiar brown eyes, and it seemed like his anxiety started to fracture, breaking down as the gentle rub of the palm on his fur eased the tension.

That nervousness, however, was replaced by anxiousness, the waiting taking its toll as he started to feel a chill throughout the room. It sank into his body and made shivers erupt, first in his arms, then down his torso and down his legs. Tygra put another hand on his chest and leaned down to whisper little soothing things into his ear. The gesture stilled him a little, but his impatience was still visible, even after the Doctor walked in some minutes later.

He looked imposing with his long cloth gloves and thin wire framed glasses. So much in fact that Liono clamped his legs shut when he first moved to spread them further. He heard him snicker to himself as redness spread through his face. Liono felt embarrassed even more when the cougar said he'd done this before, and not to worry so much, but still. The doctor had to force him to present himself, the grip of humiliation grasped around his body. He didn't do much at first, just little pokes and prods at the base of his torso and along my crotch. Compared to what he prepared to do next though, everything before it was nothing. He had turned to write something down on a piece of paper before he grabbed a small bottle from his shelf and started to tip the contents onto one of his gloved hands. Liono could imagine the pain he was going to feel before the doctor even turned back, and shut his eyes tightly when he did, feeling two fingers press against his hole. The cougar told Liono to relax as much as he could, but it was harder than it sounded. When Tygra did something like this, that was fine, but when someone else does it, it makes him feel both violated and weird. The fingers pressed against him, and with a hiss the flesh spread around them, the cold cloth sinking into him excruciatingly slow. They weren't in far when he said that Liono was going to feel a few taps, and not to be alarmed. They came In rapid succession, the thumps inside him hitting a certain spot that made Liono's manhood stand straight up and start leaking as he fought back a whine. He didn't even know if a word exists to describe how shameful he felt at getting hard from that.

It didn't appear to phase the doctor though, instead, he withdrew his fingers and grabbed a cup from the counter, holding it flesh against the head of his cock, letting the opalescent pre flow into the bottom. With his cum in hand, he told him that he could clean the rest off with a towel, and pointed to a rack behind Tygra, who snatched one up and covered his mate with the thin fabric. Liono let him wipe his shaft and ass off, feeling too humiliated to move, lest he do something else he'd regret. With that done Tygra just left the towel on top of him, knowing that he was feeling self-conscious about being so exposed.

We didn't see our doctor for another few minutes, he had walked out and down the hall with the cup, but for what purpose, neither of us knew. When he came back, he had a slight frown on his face and looked at us accusingly. Shooting Tygra a look of concern, the larger male grabbed my hand while we both tried preparing for bad news that we were sure was coming. Rubbing at his temples, the feline in white looked as if he was struggling to find the words he probably needed to say…

"How often do you two have sex?" the question caught both of us off guard, and once it sunk in, I wasn't sure I'd want him to know the answer. Tygra spoke up before I had a chance to stop him, telling the man that we'd stopped having sex when we first found out I was pregnant. The doctor's expression turned grim, and he walked out quickly, his feet on the carpet of the hall loud as the resounded through the building. He returned in no time at all, holding a bottle in his hand and shaking the contents of it while he fiddled to get the cap off. With a pill now safely in his hand, he held it out and told me to swallow it quickly. Concerned, I did as he instructed and moved the pill from his palm to my mouth with a lightning reflex. It tasted chalky, and I had a hard time getting it to go down, the aftertaste overbearing after it had fallen down my throat.

"Sex is a fundamental part of the pregnancy, you two need to be intimate at least three times a day."

"W-what?" was all I could muster, shocked by what I was being told.

"While Males can get pregnant, they lack fully functional mammary glands that females use to provide nourishment to the children."

"I thought the kittens would be fed when I ate…"

"That is only a small portion of their diet. When you eat, you are sustaining your body, but at the same time causing the mammary glands you do possess to make a very small amount of milk that is transferred down to your uterus. That being said, that milk is hardly sufficient to sustain them. The pill you just ingested is concentrated milk that should tide the kittens over until you two can get on a schedule, preferably soon."

"So what exactly will sex be doing for them?" Tygra asked, his tone serious and calm.

"When two males engage in intercourse, bodily fluid is exchanged, the same as with females. In males though, when one becomes pregnant by the other, as long as they've had sex while the one is carrying, the other's body will know it, and the semen they produce will be full of nutrients derived from his body. So to put this in perspective, while males do have the ability to procreate, it takes two of them to sustain the kittens, whereas the females body can do it itself. Male pregnancy relies on both parents, and usually results in a more substantial relationship amongst all of you."

Liono and Tygra didn't need to be told twice, they had their explanation for last night's bath. Ironic that they were supposed to have done it yet chastised themselves for letting it happen. It seemed the Cougar already knew when the two exchanged looks. Allowing himself another snicker, he sat down and watched the two. Tygra spoke before the Doctor could continue.

"We found out Liono was pregnant six months ago, , how have the kittens survived since we hadn't been having sex at all?"

"I knew you were going to ask, the answer is quite simple, as the kittens are small they do not need nearly the nourishment they do when they get bigger. That being said, the kittens were fine until about two weeks ago, when they entered stage seven growth. Since they hadn't received any secondary food, I fear that they might grow at a slower rate than normal kittens; we can keep them fed now, and they will be healthy when they are born, but their bodies have not grown to normal size since there was no food to sustain that growth."

"So what you're telling us is that if we had been having sex everyday for two weeks prior to this appointment, we'd have normal sized kittens" Liono asked.

"Correct."

"And because we haven't, their bodies knew not to grow because there wouldn't be enough food for them?"

"Right again, but do not get me wrong, they will grow to become a full size individual in time, it just might take them two or three extra years."

"I see…"

"Now then, before they can become an individual they have to be born, which leads into our next topic. Liono, you are due in exactly twenty-four days."

"That seems really early does it not?" Tygra asked, he could feel Liono grip his hand.

"It does sound soon, but in fact that's normal, you said Liono had been pregnant for six months, and in twenty four days it should make it seven and a half. This entire situation is increasingly fascinating."

"What makes you say that all of a sudden?"

"One would think, from a medical standpoint, that males would take much longer to gestate, but Liono is right on track with a female pregnancy."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"It's a wonderful thing, it seems Liono is the first evidence I've seen that proves males are becoming more adept at carrying kittens. His body is perfect, almost like it was his destiny to have kittens. Very peculiar, yet very interesting as well."

"Destiny…" Liono repeated, looking up at Tygra. "I think you might be onto something Doctor."

On their way out, The Cougar called to them one last time;

"When you two go to have sex for the first time, be careful, I think you'll both be in for a surprise." The two looked at each other in confusion, but when they looked back up to ask the Doctor what he meant, he had already gone into the back.

_ Four days later ~

"Tygra what the hell, how could you do this without telling me?!" Liono yelled, throwing pillows at his mate across the room. Unfortunately for him, Liono remembered that Tygra said he'd talk with him later about their business in the streets, and what Tygra told him was anything but expected.

"Liono, please, you need to settle down, you don't want to hurt the kittens!"

"They're mad at you too, how could you plan our wedding without even talking to me first?!"

"Because I knew you'd fly off the handle and start yelling."

"Whose flown off the handle? It's not me, I'm not the one who planned our wedding by themselves, I'm not the one who's been keeping secrets!"

"Liono, please sit down, we can talk about this." Tygra moved closer now that Liono had run out of fluffy ammunition. Liono turned his back and Tygra embraced him, lowering his jaw into the crook of his neck and purring gently. He knew Liono loved it when he did that, and when Liono eventually relaxed, Tygra led him over to the bed and helped him sit down.

"Why did you do it?" Liono asked him.

"Because you are busy carrying our kittens, I needed to do something."

"So planning a surprise wedding was the first thing that came to mind?"

"It wasn't my idea." Liono growled when he realized it, if Tygra claimed he didn't think of this then there was only one cat who could have.

"Where is she?" he asked, his thoughts growing increasingly dark as he pondered what he'd do to her for starting all of this.

"Somewhere safe Liono, all of this anger is bad for them you know; we could use a happy occasion to mark the restoration of Thundaria." Liono couldn't argue, but there were so many other things that could have been done, he couldn't think of anything at the moment, but ideas would come to him later. He shot Tygra a look, and sighed. He was right, anger was bad for the kittens.

Tygra saw that he had calmed down, and got up on the bed behind his mate, massaging the tension out of Liono's back as best he could. Liono purred as the muscular hands teased the stiffness away, but even as his shoulders got softer, his crotch started to get harder. Feeling embarrassed, Liono subtlety moved his hands over the bulge pronouncing itself in his pants as Tygra worked. After a while the massage started to wind down, and Tygra asked Liono to lay down. With his erection still raging, Liono said he could lay down later, but with Tygra's hands on him insisting, Liono didn't have much choice. Once he was on his back, he could clearly see that Tygra too had gotten hard. Somehow, knowing it wasn't just him who had gotten turned on made the air suddenly grow thicker and thicker, the room heating up as Tygra ran his hands over Liono's stomach. that felt exceptionally good to Liono, and he purred as he laid his hands on top of Tygra's, so that both of them were there, giving their kittens their first dose of love for the day. When they finished, Liono started to feel like his stomach was turning into a pit. It growled at him and he could only guess what was wrong. He looked at Tygra, and saw that his dick hadn't even made an attempt to go down, and neither had his.

"The kittens are hungry Tygra…"

"And you?" he asked

"Starving."

Smiling a devilish grin, Tygra rolled Liono onto his hands and knees and craned his neck down to lap at his mates tight hole. They hadn't done it in so long Liono wasn't used to him anymore. That was fine with Tygra, he'd enjoy fixing Liono up for this morning's games. He was sweet, a flavor Tygra never grew tired of, and while his tongue was probing, he inserted a finger slowly, hearing Liono hiss made him stop for a moment, but to his surprise Liono rocked back and forth, almost growling at him to go faster. Tygra didn't think Liono was a masochist, but didn't dare argue with that tone. He thrust the finger in several times before adding another, the pressure on the two intense, to the point where he didn't know if he'd fit in here. He continued his ministrations nonetheless, but Liono was growing increasingly impatient, and rolled over onto his back, making Tygra's fingers slide out with a 'schlick' and leaving Tygra shocked. With a foot Liono pushed his lover onto the bed and quickly moved his head to line up with that hot crotch. Liono took his mate's length all at once, he was ravenous, they hadn't done this in so long Liono couldn't control himself. They both knew that they had waited too long, Tygra was already pouring pre into Liono's mouth and tearing at the sensations of his mate's expert mouth around his pulsing organ. Liono didn't stop until the hunger moved from his mouth to his ass. Without skipping a beat he shifted so that his hole kissed the head of Tygra's cock teasingly. Lowering himself slowly, he smiled as he heard Tygra hiss in utter delight as an unfathomable tightness engulfed him. When the head had was in, Liono slammed down, forcing the last seven inches inside. Tygra teared up and shot several streams of pre, Liono's ass was so different, it was so tight, he didn't know how much longer he'd last. From the look on Liono's face, Tygra could tell he was in the same situation. Liono recovered first, struggling to lift himself up and slam back down, but Tygra caught him just in time, cupping the cheeks of that firm ass and lowering him slowly, he didn't think he could handle another hard thrust like the first. it took them both a few minutes to synchronize and get into a rhythm, Liono lifting himself and Tygra meeting him halfway. Liono's moans were loud and rampant, his ass was burning and felt like everywhere his mates cock bumped was his sweet spot. Tygra could hear his lover's moans getting louder, and he knew that he had to be close, he himself was struggling to last at this point. Before he succumbed to his urge to cum though, he managed to flip their position and get Liono on his back. This was his favorite way to finish, and just because his mate was pregnant didn't mean they had to change this. Leaning forward, he caught Liono's mouth with his own and shared a kiss with him. This proved too much for the smaller male, and he spilled his seed between them, clamping down on his lover as orgasm raged through him. Tygra had never felt this kind of pleasure before, it felt like his dick was being massaged on all sides, like a mouth was around it, and sucking everything out of his balls. He couldn't hold it in under this kind of stress, and shot his seed deep inside his lover's ass, filling him up with his warm cream. Liono's tongue lolled out of his mouth as he was overcome by a wonderful fullness. His stomach ceased feeling like an empty pit and instead felt full and content. With purrs in their throats, they stole one last kiss from each other before Tygra reluctantly pulled himself out of his lover's ass and slumped down onto the bed, exhausted.

"I see what the Doctor meant now..." Tygra started.

"What, that you got bigger?"

"What, I was going to say you got tighter."

They both shared a look and then looked down at themselves. Liono of course couldn't see anything, but Tygra could see he had almost gotten an inch bigger, and if he was looking at himself right, a little bit thicker.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Well he did say we'd be in for a surprise..." Liono said through labored breaths.

"This is ridiculous though."

"What, that that was the fastest sex we've had?"

"It was the best sex we've had."

"And we are going to have to do it more often. I can hear the kittens purring."

"Are you sure it's not just you?"

"Why can't it be both?"

"That's a wonderful question, that I will gladly find an answer for after a nap."

"you read my mind love." exchanging another smile, Tygra scooted himself closer and draped an arm around his mate, pulling him closer. He fell asleep first, Liono not far behind him. To think things ended up like this... Liono allowed himself only a quick thought on it before he fell into dreams of their Kittens to come.


	9. Words

**Paradise is not free, it must be maintained, and tested. Will Liono and Tygra be ready when the time comes?**

* * *

><p>The couple had been relatively social for the next week, having all manner of species in and out of the palace at all hours of the day as preparations were made for both the upcoming royal wedding and the birth of the first litter of Kittens to a new royal couple. The city was ablaze with activity as well as the populace ran about to ready themselves for this momentous dual occasion as well. There were smells of fresh breads and baked goods and the sounds of fireworks being tested filled the streets, hundreds of cats, dogs, lizards, and all other species grouped together as they moved as a river through Thundaria, every one of them excited not only that their city will be finished with its reconstruction in only a few more days, but also because they had been seeing a lot more of their beloved savior and his mate amongst them. Today however, Liono and Tygra had something very important on their list of to-dos:<p>

"Are you nervous my love?" Tygra cooed as he held his mate under his arm.

"Do you even need to ask me at this point, I'm caught between my nervousness and my excitement, I'm about to explode from all the tension it's putting on me." The smaller male responded, finally wearing clothes more appropriate today, having had the tailor come to visit and fit him for a robe that gave him ample room to move about. Tygra thought it made him look like a Forest sprite, a compliment Liono could only blush at. It is said that forest sprites are among the most beautiful of all Creatures that exists on this marvelous World, and to be considered one of them was a flattery lost on no one. The Robe itself was simple green silk that hung off Liono's figure baggily, trimmed in elegant silver cloth that resembled ornate filigree that one might find upon a ring or precious heirloom. The collar was higher than most and cut in a v shape to allow Liono more breathing room while at the same time adding perspective lines that drew the eye straight to his well-pronounced pregnancy. He was self-conscious at first about this, but Tygra convinced him everything would be alright, all it took was kiss on the cheek, and Liono had all the assurance he'd need.

No matter whom they passed, all eyes turned to admire just who it was who wore this elegant gown, and upon seeing that it was none other than their King, they quickly bowed their heads in reverence. This was the part that made Liono truly uncomfortable, such that nothing Tygra could do would make it ok. He was the king he could not deny, but he felt that he was a citizen of Thundaria like everyone else, and needed no special recognition for the job he does. His concerns fell upon deaf ears though, this was a pleasure that people took, and did so in his honor. There was one time, only days ago, when Liono asked not to be bowed to, not to be recognized as different among them. An elder woman stepped from the crowd and said that they honor the one who has honored them. The words stayed with Liono, and they are all he can think of when he sees this sight. He still wishes that he could simply walk among them though, as just another person in the streets.

The pair slowed as they approached a small shop at the corner of the intersection, a woodworkers as the sign described. Holding the door open, Tygra allowed his mate to venture inside first, following close behind. This store was busy where most weren't, a line formed at the counter where a younger cat wrote furiously upon his sheet of paper, trying to catch everything he was being told as it was said. Luckily for them, there was an array of chairs aligned around the large room which they partook in while they waited. Tygra kept his mate occupied with jokes and small talk, reveling in each smile and laugh that he received in response.

When they had been there nearly an hour, a rather loud gasp came from the counter, drawing both the Lion and the Tiger's attention. For whatever reason, a young woman was surprised to see them, and immediately the line started to murmur quietly. When Tygra asked them what the problem was, they immediately quieted down and resumed what they had been doing previous to the outburst. The line moved at double speed once that woman had left, and the next thing they knew, they had gotten up to stand behind the man who was currently being helped. He finished his business with the young cat quickly, and moved out of the way.

The craftsman was flushed, and even when Tygra sent Liono to walk about the store as he talked with him, the young cat shook with nervousness. He was startled when Tygra told him that they needed seven cradles, but he wrote down their order quickly, asking if there was any kind of cradle in particular they'd prefer. Tygra smiled and told him that was left to his discretion, they hadn't done this before so they weren't really sure what kind to get. This made the craftsman smiled, here he thought that these two were overly particular and feared he might not be able to meet their standards, but it turned out that they really were just like everyone else. He and Tygra talked for a minute more about the smaller details, while Liono admired the handcrafted beds and little knick-knacks on display. He jumped when Tygra caught his arm, asking what that was all about. Tygra just gave him a sly grin as he pocketed a secret note sent to him by their Doctor and led them out into the street.

"You're acting strange."

"So are you."

"I'm not the one who was whispering to the woodcrafter."

"I just had to take care of something."

"Like what?"

"Something that will surprise you."

"Now why did you do that, you know I'm anxious as it is, now I'm curious as to what you've done now."

"As you should be."

"Jerk."

"You love it."

"You're lucky I do."

"I'm lucky to have you." He punctuated his statement by leaning down and pecking a kiss onto Liono's cheek, successfully making his mate blush and look around to see if anyone saw. Everyone was looking at them and frozen in their 'aww' faces, so it was safe to assume that it didn't go unnoticed. Liono had been put in these kinds of situations many times recently, he thought Tygra enjoyed embarrassing him. It made him feel loved though, that he'd do these small things in public.

"I'm lucky to have you too," Liono finally replied when they had gone a little ways farther. Tygra's face lit up and he gave his love one more kiss before they continued on their way.

Only twenty three days left now, neither of them could wait, Liono woke up every day as if he was expecting to go into labor at any moment. He'd even taken steps to have more guards on call in case they had to rush Liono to the Clericy in the middle of the night. Tygra stayed closer to his mate than ever. Whenever he was called to be present during political meetings Liono always had to go with him. This was normally against the rules, as Thundarian law dictates that when a King becomes pregnant that they are to be considered incapable of completing a king's duty, and thusly it falls to the Regent Lord, whom Claudus had appointed Tygra. Circumstances demanded that Liono and Tygra always be together, and the issue was brought up only once, needless to say the unfortunate cat will not be making a similar mistake again, as Tygra put him in his place rather quickly.

"Today is a wonderful day for a walk isn't it Liono?"

"I was just thinking that, although I fear I might need to sit down in a few moments, these little guys seem to be putting on weight each day." Smiling to each other, Tygra quickly found a bench and led his mate to sit upon the wood softened with age.

"It's amazing what all survived, do you remember when we were on our hunt, all the stories we heard about our home?"

"You mean how it was nothing more than a dilapidated ruin far beyond repair?"

"Thundaria will never fit that description, so long as there are people who stand tall and proud, who carry virtue in their hearts, everything that Thundaria is, will live on." Liono craned his head to look at the sky, his words filling the air around him with a warmth that penetrated to the soul and sent a sense of peace through them both, along with the few who had stopped to eavesdrop.

"I couldn't have said it better myself my love."

Smiling, Liono continued: "This land will always be beautiful, and it will always be full of beautiful people, it's a paradise on this world, that I will preserve with every fiber of my being, and when I'm long gone, I'm sure that you and our Children will do the same, if not even better than I could have ever hoped for."

"I care not to dwell on those thoughts, Thundaria will bask in the light you have brought to it for many prosperous years to come, the fire of life and passion will burn through these streets for an eternity, and you are the one we can thank for that. Never again will Thundaria see darkness."

"No, no it won't." Liono gave his mate a quick peck on the cheek, feeling much better after this nice conversation. In the blink of an eye his tension was kept at bay, one of the many examples of just how perfect they were for each other. No matter what Tygra told him, it always served to ease his mood, and bring him peace. He needed it with everything going on around him, only 14 days left until he could see his children's bright faces; now that they were so close, the anxiousness was nearing deadly levels. Liono found himself lying awake at night thinking over hundreds of different names, and thinking about how they'd organize the nursery and the playroom and the dinner table to accommodate them. It was at the forefront of his mind, and everything else seemed to be pushed out of the way while Liono focused his entire being on providing for his little miracles.

This was part of the reason they were out today; Tygra thought it would be good to go for a walk to get their minds off things, as a kind of relaxation exercise. He could see Liono's obsession ran deep, and it wasn't that it was a bad thing, but his mate was tiring himself out unnecessarily. The last thing he wanted was for Liono to run himself into the ground this soon. So far, it appeared his plan was working, getting Liono to slow down and reorient himself was already yielding physical results, he looked brighter, and hadn't yawned since they left the courtyard.

They had other errands to run while they were out, but they were small things like picking up their clothes for the wedding and looking at which flowers were in bloom this time of year; nothing so demanding that it required them to leave immediately. Tygra could smell the content on his mate, a scent that blended in with the nature around them, as if Liono was as the trees were, and the sky. It intrigued him, that his mate could elicit these emotions just from smell alone. Then again, Tygra had to remind himself just who it was he was thinking about.

They lingered for only a little while longer, and once the two had their fill of the sights and smells of this fresh new day, the larger helped his mate up and together they walked arm in arm down the cobbled street toward the row of shops waiting for them.

Their business had been speeding up as Liono's belly grew more and more pronounced, as if each shopkeeper was going out of their way to provide the absolute best service possible. Liono didn't seem to notice anything, but Tygra was always keen on these things. Even as the tailor scrambled reckless through his shop grabbing this and that and ushering the two into the dressing room, Tygra could see small beads of sweat sprouting up under the fur. He wondered what made them so ancy, but he didn't have to think too hard when his eyes fell onto Liono's bump. Absent-mindedly, he reached out to put a hand over the clothed skin, and felt a thrum deep inside him.

"Tygra, everything alright?" Liono asked him. Tygra gave a quick nod, but stared at his hand for a moment. He'd never felt such a display of life, a feeling so profound that he couldn't even recreate it in his head. He had a mind to run his hand over the kittens again, but Liono had already started putting on his outfit, and Tygra didn't want to interrupt simply out of indulgence. Still though, he felt, perhaps even more so than he already was, excited.

Their time at the tailor's was short, and they didn't leave empty-handed. Tygra held their bundles under his arm as they crossed this off their list and moved on. Today was turning out to be one of those days that could survive even the most frayed memory. They stopped for candyfruit juice and sweet rolls at the bakery, and slowed their walk to watch a puppet show in the streets, the cobbles filled with children of all ages laughing and enjoying themselves.

Noon had long since passed when the two finally stepped through the palace doors, exhausted from their fun. Tygra nearly collapsed under the weight of their burden, unloading the wrapped packages nearby and asking the guards to carry them to their proper places. With a nod they obliged, and left the couple to find their own way to their chambers. Liono didn't have to say anything, and Tygra didn't have to ask, they both knew they were running late, and did their best to refrain from jumping each other in the hall. The heat in Liono's face was obvious to everyone they passed, but none said a word. Their private wing was cleared, the guards had moved and there was silence throughout the corridors. Not for long however, for as soon as the two of them were safely behind the door, clothes went flying and their mouths found each other as if they were magnetized. Tygra wasted no time, and soon they found themselves lying haphazardly on the bed, spent and eagerly awaiting sleep to overtake them. The smaller male passed out first, purring happily, while Tygra held off. He could feel his body tingling and suddenly an urge to return his hand to the supple flesh before him drove him to do just that. His skin ignited as the skin connected, and electricity tore through him, blurred visions filling his mind until he was ultimately knocked out, eyes closing slowly as everything slowed down around him.

When he next opened his eyes, he was in utter darkness, only a dim beam of light sprayed over him. He called out, trying to see something beyond the unforgiving veil. Something called back to him. Several things. As if the darkness were mist, several beings coalesced from it, seven miniscule kittens barely the size of his foot. There was something oddly familiar about each of them, a familiarity that prodded at him angrily.

"Father…" one of them spoke, soon followed by the others. The realization hit Tygra hard; he wasn't sure what was happening, and concluded that this had to be the oddest dream he'd had.

"Prepare…" they all said again.

"For what, what am I preparing for?" Tygra asked, turning, looking at all of them.

"He is not yet defeated, he will come for us…"

"Who?"

"He…he will try to take us from you both, you must not let him, we do not want to go."

"I won't let him, whoever it is, neither of us will."

"We know."

"So why then, why am I here?"

"So you could see Father, the prize." Tygra's eyes shot open and he sprang up in bed, his body covered in sweat and his head swimming. He stared around the room, and saw nothing. Everything was the same, and his mate as well. The smaller body was in the same position as when he'd gone to sleep, happily content among his dreams. Tygra wished he could have been the same. The vision prickled the edge of his mind, and he touched his mate's stomach again, feeling a tingle across his palm, and the same thrum he'd felt before.

"What the hell is going on?" he whispered to himself. Liono roused lightly below him and cracked his eyes groggily.

"Hmm?" he asked, half asleep and fading again fast.

"Nothing my love, go back to sleep." Tygra laid down next to his mate, his brow furrowed in thought as he tried to wrap his head around the warning he had been given, and who had given it to him.

* * *

><p>Tygra had thought Liono's dreams were as content as his body looked, but in reality, they were not. Liono had been walking through a ruined city, the rubble unrecognizable as he stepped over what he thought were destroyed homes and shops. He had no idea where he was. The land was ravaged and scarred terribly, the sky was painted black with evil clouds that seemed to stare at him, a small glimmer of life in this otherwise hollow place. He had thought of calling out, to try and find some hope in this oblivion. He held his tongue though, lest he attract something he'd regret. He had no idea what beasts could dwell here, and he wasn't about to find out. He slid down another pile of rubble, and found himself staring as a horrible sight. His face was upturned in disgust and terror as he saw the bodies. Hundreds, thousands, laying in death in front of him. Hesitantly he stepped to a nearby corpse, and examined it, noting the slashes that ran along their back and nearly split them in three. Each one was the same, and he couldn't help fearing whatever did this to these people. He stopped at the fifth body, a terrible revelation dawning on him. He recognized the little old man, eyes clamped shut in fear. He'd just seen this man that morning, and started to doubt himself as he looked around again. He realized he recognized all of these bodies. The rubble started to have some meaning after all, and this oblivion suddenly had a terrible meaning. This was Thundaria.<p>

"This is the future…" came several voices behind him. He spun in surprise, and prepared for whatever startled him. They were kittens, small and innocent, floating in the air, glowing faintly. Liono lowered his arms and unexpectedly saw himself in a few of the tiny faces, and stared in disbelief.

"Are you…"

"Yes…"

"What…what is…"

"The future."

"I don't believe that."

"Then it's not."

"What do you mean?"

"This is the future if he should succeed."

"Who?"

"He."

"Who is he?"

"He can be everything, and can be nothing, but you already know this, and you already know "He.""

"What does he want?"

"Revenge, destruction, us."

"You?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Revenge."

"For what?"

"You crippled him gravely, prevented him from taking the World, now, he wants to take your World."

"No! no I won't let him have it!."

"And Tygra?"

"He will not have him either, he'll have nothing!"

"Then this is not the future."

"Then what is?"

"Wake up and see." As soon as they said it, Liono felt himself ripped from that dreamscape and found himself hearing his mate whispering softly. Liono cracked his eyes and saw Tygra rather peeved sitting up next to him with a hand on the kittens. Liono tried to speak but all he could manage was a mumbled 'hmm.' Tygra regarded him and told him to go back to sleep. Liono felt the warmth return to his side and the arm come over his chest. This was the future indeed, but not all of it. Before he fell back into the dream, Liono put his own hand on his belly. The future will not end up like that wasteland. Mum'ra will have nothing.


End file.
